
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 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

Jul 7, 2023 • 28min
Our Rival City, Homelessness Census, and Dance Battles
Data from the annual point-in-time homelessness census shows homelessness is on the rise in Salt Lake County and across Utah. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to take a look at the results. Plus, who is Salt Lake’s rival city? Later, producer Ivana Martinez tags in to share her pick of the week.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 6, 2023 • 17min
Busting Recycling Myths
It’s a couple days after a big holiday, and you have a tower of pizza boxes and beer cans ready to be tossed out. You’re confident about recycling the aluminum cans. But what about that greasy pizza box? McKenna Tupai, sustainability coordinator for Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District, talks with host Ali Vallarta about what you can and can’t recycle in 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

Jul 5, 2023 • 18min
How Salt Lake’s Most Selective College Will Adjust on Affirmative Action
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, a college admissions principle which for decades has sought to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of student populations in higher education. How does the decision impact Salt Lake’s colleges? Dr. Tamara Stevenson, Westminster University’s vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, joins host Ali Vallarta to make the case for demographic diversity as an educational tool.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 3, 2023 • 22min
A Game-Changing Idea for Utah Women’s Sports
A proposal to build a women’s sports complex at the soon-to-be-vacant Smith’s Ballpark won over community members during Salt Lake City’s recent Ballpark NEXT competition. Utah Falconz football team president and defensive player Lacy Mile talks with host Ali Vallarta about what having a home field to play at could mean for her team and the trajectory of women’s sports.This episode originally aired March 30, 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

Jun 30, 2023 • 29min
Hot Election Goss, a Surprise Love Story, and SLC’s Oyster Guy
The special election for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District took a juicy turn this week. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to share some hot goss from the Republican nominating convention. Plus, Hey Salt Lake newsletter editor Terina Ria shares an eco-friendly love story for the ages, and Ali and Emily have delicious picks of the week.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

Jun 29, 2023 • 14min
Fighting To Return to SLC’s West Side After Being Priced Out
After being forced to move from her home in Salt Lake City’s Guadalupe neighborhood two years ago to make way for a new apartment development, Tina Holt Balderrama is back in her old neighborhood — but not without sacrifice. Host Ali Vallarta joins Tina at her new apartment, right across the street from a hole in the ground where her old house once stood, to talk about why she fought to make the journey home.Review Salt Lake City’s Thriving in Place action plan and provide public comment before June 30.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

Jun 28, 2023 • 23min
Your Ultimate Salt Lake Summer Movie Guide
Something about summer really makes you want to pop some popcorn and take in a movie. Luckily, Salt Lake has oodles of indoor and outdoor options for your viewing pleasure. Host and resident film buff Ali Vallarta joins lead producer Emily Means to share her picks for the best places to catch a flick, hottest summer deals, and the origin story of the summer movie blockbuster.Utah Film Center screenings at Liberty ParkSundance Institute Local Lens summer lineupLost & Found Club R-rated movie nightRedwood Drive-inSalt Lake Film Society Summer ShowdownBrewvies Salt Lake CitySubscribe 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

Jun 27, 2023 • 16min
What Happened to Even Stevens Sandwiches?
Utah-based sandwich shop Even Stevens has had a rocky road of operations over the past few years. But the once beloved restaurant that rose to fame for its buy-one-give-one donation model has mysteriously shut its doors around the valley. Producer Ivana Martinez joins host Ali Vallarta to break down what happened. 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

Jun 26, 2023 • 22min
Salt Lake’s Train to Boise Is Gaining Steam
The Utah Department of Transportation just requested $500,000 from the federal government to explore the possibility of a passenger train connecting Salt Lake to Boise. City Cast Boise lead producer Frankie Barnhill and host Emma Arnold join Salt Lake host Ali Vallarta to talk about why Boiseans are so pumped to ride the rails to SLC — and the best ideas for a long weekend in each city.This episode originally aired on March 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices