
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 1, 2023 • 28min
Sanctioned Camping by Winter? Food Co-Ops, and the Library Is Unionizing
Salt Lake City has named an ambitious timeline for opening a new sanctioned campground: this winter. But where will it go? Building Salt Lake editor Taylor Anderson joins lead producer Emily Means to round up the week’s news, including the far-off opening of a new cooperative food market. Plus, Taylor and Emily share their picks of the week.Listen to our conversations with the three mayoral candidates:
Mayor Erin Mendenhall on homelessness
Rocky Anderson on homelessness
Michael Valentine on homelessness
Our interview with Andrew Johnston, Salt Lake City homeless policy director, on a homeless state of emergency and sanctioned camping.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

Aug 31, 2023 • 17min
When a Tattoo Is More Than Body Art
Earlier this month, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts opened the Tatau: Marks of Polynesia exhibit, which explores the art, tradition, and history of tatau (Samoan tattooing). Lead producer Emily Means talks with Verona Mauga, cofounder of the Pacific Islander advocacy organization Le Malu, about this tradition and its revival, as well as her own tatau experience.The exhibit runs through December. You can find out more and get tickets here.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

Aug 30, 2023 • 24min
Your Guide to September in Salt Lake
September gets a bad rap. It’s kind of an awkward month that’s bookended by the end of summer and the start of fall. But producer Ivana Martinez and host Ali Vallarta argue it’s one of the best times of the year. They round out their best bets for you to try this month to make this September one to remember. Here are some of the events and places we talked about in this episode:
Utah State Fair
Celebración Sinfónica
Night Lights at Deseret Peak Complex
Salt Lake Bees games
Sundance Resort Scenic Lift
Woodland Biscuit Company
Nobletts Creek Trail
Broadway Centre Cinemas
Midway Swiss Days
Snowbird’s Oktoberfest
9th and 9th Street Festival
Avenues Street Fair
We also mentioned the book “Golden Axe” by local poet Rio Cortez, and this episode about the best nearby hikes. Vote for City Cast Salt Lake in City Weekly’s Best of Utah competition.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

Aug 29, 2023 • 20min
What's the Salt Lake Accent?
From “oh my heck” to dropping our Ts, many Utahns have a special way of speaking. Lead producer Emily Means talks with theater professor and dialect coach Stacey Jenson about the origins of the Utah accent and what defines it.This episode originally aired Aug. 29, 2022.Take the Hey Salt Lake Utah phrases quiz.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

Aug 28, 2023 • 20min
Housing, Ski Beaches, and Other Ways Park City is Changing
The affordable housing crisis isn’t unique to Salt Lake City. In Park City, there are more jobs than residents, which means lots of people commute into town each day. So how will the city government get workers housed and out of traffic? KPCW reporter Parker Malatesta joins host Ali Vallarta to break down what housing projects are in the pipeline as well as other developments that could majorly change the trajectory of the ski town.Take the bus from Salt Lake City to Kimball Junction.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

Aug 25, 2023 • 28min
Primary vs. Caucus, an Olympic Relic Returns, and a Backstreet Boy’s Blanky
Enjoy the primary election while it lasts, because the Utah GOP is forcing Republican voters to go to caucus night for next year’s presidential election. Salt Lake Tribune reporter Andy Larsen joins host Ali Vallarta to break down the impacts of ditching primaries. Plus, Ali’s white whale — the Hoberman Arch — makes its triumphant return. And the new face of Utah-based Minky Couture is … a Backstreet Boy.The Salt Lake Tribune’s voter guide for municipal primary elections in Brighton, Bluffdale, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Murray, Sandy, West Jordan and West Valley City.The full list of early voting locations, dates and hours in Salt Lake County.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

Aug 24, 2023 • 25min
The Best Places To Cry in Public in Salt Lake
Sometimes the tears well up and you can’t control it! So, where are the best places in Salt Lake to comfortably cry in public? With help from City Cast listeners and Hey Salt Lake readers, newsletter editor Terina Ria and producer Ivana Martinez join host Ali Vallarta to compile a list and map of the best local spots to find comfort, or solace from strangers. 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

Aug 23, 2023 • 20min
What’s in SLC’s 5-Year Housing Plan?
Salt Lake City has a brand new, 5-year housing plan: Housing SLC. Host Ali Vallarta asks Ruedigar Matthes, a policy manager for Salt Lake City’s Community and Neighborhoods Department, what the plan entails and how the city will execute on a bold vision amidst our statewide housing crisis.“Getting Paid to Pay Rent in SLC” by City Cast Salt Lake.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

Aug 22, 2023 • 17min
Lessons in Gender Affirming Care From a Breast Reduction
The idea of gender affirming care has become increasingly politicized in Utah. But what does it actually mean? Al Fernandez recently underwent a breast reduction surgery that helped them feel more comfortable in their body. They join host Ali Vallarta to share tips for getting your insurance to cover this kind of procedure, and talk through the mythologies around gender affirming care.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

Aug 21, 2023 • 24min
The Gondola Has UDOT’s Stamp of Approval. Now What?
The Utah Department of Transportation has officially greenlit the controversial proposal to build a 22-tower, 8-mile gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Host Ali Vallarta asks Salt Lake Tribune enterprise reporter Julie Jag what this means for the next 10 years of recreating in the canyon — and whether it’s still a pipe dream.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLCLooking 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