

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

Oct 23, 2023 • 25min
What Can SLC Learn From Denver’s Sanctioned Camps?
In September, Salt Lake City and state officials announced the site of the state’s first-ever sanctioned homeless camp at 300 S. and 600 W. in downtown SLC. And though details are still being ironed out, one city council member has said they’re looking to Denver’s sanctioned camping program for inspiration. Host Ali Vallarta asks Denverite homelessness reporter Kyle Harris what lessons Salt Lake can learn from Colorado and the successes and challenges we should come to expect.“How Any of Us Could Reverse an Overdose” by City Cast 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.Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:TecovasLooking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.

Oct 20, 2023 • 34min
Winter Homelessness Plans, Reworking Downtown, and Local Dracula
Temperatures are dropping and people want to know — what’s Salt Lake’s winter homelessness plan? Plus, is downtown getting a makeover? Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to break down the news and share their picks of the week.Volunteer with Unsheltered Utah this weekend.Learn more about the Point in Time Count, and sign up to volunteer in January 2024.Choose a proposal for downtown Main Street and 100 S. — take the survey!Get tickets to Utah Symphony/Opera, and Ballet West perform “Dracula.”Eat dinner at Kafe Mamai in downtown SLC. 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.

Oct 19, 2023 • 23min
It’s Officially Cheaper To Rent Than Buy. What Now?
We never thought we’d see the day when it’s more cost-effective to rent than buy a house, but here we are. Deseret News reporter Katie McKellar joins host Ali Vallarta to explain how renting pencils out better than buying in Utah’s current housing market, and Ali asks what that means for the American dream.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.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.

Oct 18, 2023 • 19min
Why Utah Is the Future of Black Banking
There are 18 Black-owned banks left across the entire United States, and one of them is now in Holladay. Host Ali Vallarta asks Redemption Bank’s chairman and CEO Ashley Bell why the only Black-owned bank in the Mountain West will be in Utah — and what its $78 million NFL deal means for 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 find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.

Oct 17, 2023 • 27min
You Asked, We Answered: Funeral Potatoes, Bar Deals, and Visiting Parents
What are funeral potatoes? What’s Salt Lake’s best bar deal? Where should you take your parents when they visit? It’s our first mailbag show, and you sent us some excellent questions. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to answer them.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.

Oct 16, 2023 • 23min
How Astra Tower Is Changing Downtown SLC
The final steel beam has graced Astra Tower, the luxury apartment building that’s the newest addition to the Salt Lake skyline. But aside from being the tallest building in the state, what does it all mean? Host Ali Vallarta asks local realtor Mitch Finlinson how the Astra is already changing Salt Lake City’s downtown — for better or worse.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.

Oct 13, 2023 • 33min
How Should Utah Grow? I-15 Expansion, and the OG X Wifes Place
Survey says: We’re done griping about our growth and want to find smart ways to guide it instead. The Governor’s Office released results from the Guiding Our Growth survey this week. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to break down the findings on housing, transportation, water, and open space. Plus, they share their picks of the week.Public comment for the I-15 expansion is open now through Nov. 13. You can also attend a series of open houses on the proposal. The next one is virtual on Monday, Oct. 16 at 5 p.m.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.

Oct 12, 2023 • 12min
A Utah Astronomer’s Guide to the Annular Eclipse
Are you ready for the annular eclipse? On Saturday, Oct. 14, the sun will appear in the sky like a “ring of fire,” and southern Utah will be right in its path. The cosmic event will surely draw huge crowds, and Torrey Mayor Mickey Wright says his town is gearing up for a massive wave of visitors. Mayor Wright — who is also an astronomer — joins host Ali Vallarta to give us an astronomy lesson and share tips for safely enjoying the eclipse.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.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.

Oct 11, 2023 • 19min
Why Do Neighborhood Boundaries Matter?
Salt Lake City’s neighborhoods are far from identical — just ask the staunch defenders of their boundaries. But is it a real problem, or a realtor’s problem? Building Salt Lake editor Taylor Anderson joins host Ali Vallarta to explain why we should care where our neighborhood starts and ends. This episode originally aired Feb. 8, 2023.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.

Oct 10, 2023 • 20min
How New Incentives Could Help SLC’s Housing Crisis
According to Salt Lake City’s housing dashboard, we’re currently short about 18,000 affordable housing units. So the City Council is exploring a slate of code changes and incentives to encourage affordable housing developments in every part of our city — not just the west side. From skyscrapers to density and fourplexes, SLC Council Chair Darin Mano tells host Ali Vallarta how these ideas could translate to results and whether he thinks they will.A public hearing for the affordable housing incentives is scheduled for the City Council’s formal meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. Learn more about what’s being proposed.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.