
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

Jul 21, 2023 • 26min
City-Wide Improvements, Drive-Thru Buildings, and Mitt’s Hot Dog Bit
The Salt Lake City Council is reviewing a number of proposals, from new pickleball courts to the end of Sugar House drive-thrus. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to break down the council’s current workload. Plus, Salt Lakers can’t stop driving into local businesses, and Sen. Mitt Romney can’t stop with the hot dog bit.Join the Capital Improvements Project Advisory Board.U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney on hot dogs.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

Jul 20, 2023 • 20min
For This Toothless Monster’s Sake, Quit Dumping Your Goldfish
Happy 50th birthday to the Endangered Species Act of 1973! The landmark legislation demands we do everything in our power to protect imperiled plants and animals in the United States. In celebration, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources recovery program chief Sarah Seegert tells host Ali Vallarta about a local water monster whose life is on the line –– and steps we can take to keep it around.Explore the Colorado Pikeminnow story map.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

Jul 19, 2023 • 20min
Guess Which of These Vacant Buildings Will Be Housing
Have you ever stared down a vacant building in downtown Salt Lake City and thought, “Why isn’t this housing?” Host Ali Vallarta is obsessed with a few particular structures that would make great apartments or shelters, and she asks SLC Planning Director Nick Norris what it would take to make it happen.This episode originally aired Feb. 15, 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 18, 2023 • 24min
Who Is Responsible for Camp Abatements, and Why?
Homelessness is one of Salt Lake’s most critical issues, and in recent years, camp abatements have become a controversial public-facing response to it. Multiple levels of government are involved in the process, including the Salt Lake County Public Health Department. Dr. Angela Dunn, the department’s executive director, joins host Ali Vallarta to answer our questions about abatements and examine homelessness through a public health lens.Current Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall on homelessness.Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Rocky Anderson on homelessness.Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Michael Valentine on homelessness.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

Jul 17, 2023 • 24min
Why You Should Get a Drink at a Salt Lake Strip Club
In January, host Ali Vallarta announced her New Year’s resolution was to have at least one drink at every bar in Salt Lake County before the end of 2023. Some called her crazy, some tried to call her bluff, but today — as she reaches the halfway point — lead producer Emily Means is calling her in for the gossip on where and when to have the most fun at Salt Lake bars.City Cast Salt Lake explores every bar in Salt Lake County tracker and map.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

Jul 14, 2023 • 30min
Utah’s Supreme Side Eye, Heat Map the City, and Local Blood
Buckle in, geeks, because the Utah Supreme Court is hearing a case that could have mega impacts for Salt Lake County voters. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to break it down and get you hyped on redistricting. Plus, put this scorching-hot weekend to good use and help heat map Salt Lake City. And donate some blood, while you’re at it.Volunteer to heatmap with Salt Lake City one day between July 11 and 31.ARUP will begin accepting donations from men who have sex with men on Tuesday, July 18. Donate any day in July and receive a $10 Megaplex gift card.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

Jul 13, 2023 • 16min
Tips for Taking On a Mountain Lion (if You Have To)
It’s hiking season, which means more people are out on the trails and potentially interacting with wildlife. That has us thinking about last year’s mountain lion attack on the popular Pipeline Trail in Millcreek Canyon. You’ve probably hiked there before, too! Host Ali Vallarta talks with Faith Heaton Jolley with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources about what to do if you’re ever face to face with a cougar.This episode originally aired on Sept. 29, 2022.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

Jul 12, 2023 • 17min
Things You Didn’t Know Your Library Card Could Do
From 3D printing to passport services, the downtown Salt Lake City library offers so much more than books and air conditioning. Librarian assistant Matt Jaggi tells host Ali Vallarta everything you can explore or check off your to-do list with a library card. Plus, Ali shares an update on SLC Public Library employees’ unionization effort.The SLC Library board will meet on Monday, July 17, at 4 p.m. Attend in-person or virtually.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

Jul 11, 2023 • 17min
It’s Algal Bloom Season. Here’s How To Keep Your Dog Safe
The temperature’s rising, and everyone and their dog wants to hop into the nearest watering hole and cool off. But a fun day at the lake could take a dire turn if your pet swallows the wrong pond scum. Dr. Hannah Bonner, environmental scientist at the Utah Division of Water Quality, joins lead producer Emily Means to explain what’s in the water and how to keep the doggos safe.Check for harmful algal blooms at water bodies statewide.Report an observed bloom to this 24-hour hotline: 801-536-4123Call Utah Poison Control for sick humans or general information: 1-800-222-1222Call ASPCA’s hotline for a sick pet (cost involved for calls): (888) 426-4435Subscribe 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

Jul 10, 2023 • 17min
What Do SLC Park Rangers Do?
Have you ever seen a Salt Lake City park ranger in the wild? We hadn’t. So we followed one around Fairmont Park in Sugar House. Ranger Nahuel Tulian joins host Ali Vallarta to talk about the scope of his responsibilities and his advice for being a better park goer. SLC Park Ranger program activity breakdown.Take the Liberty Park Playground survey.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