

City Cast Las Vegas
City Cast
City Cast Las Vegas is a daily podcast and newsletter created by and for locals (and locals-at-heart) that’ll challenge the easy narratives about our city … and, okay, maybe confirm a few of them, too. Las Vegas is a city of reinvention, bursting at the seams as it welcomes newcomers into its various incarnations as a service-worker union town, a military town, a college town, and, most recently, a sports town.There’s a four-mile street testifying to our entrepreneurial genius, not far from pockets of staggering inequality. Great wealth runs through our city, but how much of that actually stays in Vegas? We’re independent in spirit, but also ruled by orange traffic cones. Our 2.5 million residents anchor an ever-changing city of 42 million visitors.Join us every morning for the messy, delightful, complicated conversations that Las Vegans are having: You’ll hear us ask hard questions about where we’ll get our water when Lake Mead runs out, and how we’ll keep housing affordable. We’ll argue over our favorite Chinatown bars, and share insider tips on the best tacos in town. City Cast Las Vegas will show you how loving a city means celebrating it and also holding it accountable, while having some fun along the way—because Las Vegans know how to have a good time.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 21, 2025 • 26min
The Case Against Mojave Max
For a quarter century, schoolchildren across the valley have been learning about desert conservation from Mojave Max, our city's beloved tortoise mascot. But what if the Mojave Max program was actually … bad for the desert? Today on City Cast Las Vegas, co-host Dayvid Figler talks with Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin Director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Patrick has some serious beef with Mojave Max, and it all starts, he says, with how the program was funded by the real estate developers who destroyed Mojave Max's habitat.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 21st episode:
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Barter Beer + Mall
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 20, 2025 • 25min
Is Las Vegas at Peak Speakeasy?
While the speakeasy trend has waxed and waned in other cities, Las Vegas keeps the spirit of the secret bar with Prohibition-era cocktails alive in at least a dozen busy venues — but are they even really speakeasies anymore? Are we over the gimmick? And as it turns out, our frontier city didn't have to do much hiding during Prohibition … so did we actually even have speakeasies at all? Co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman, a culinary historian, sit down with newsletter editor and bar enthusiast Rob Kachelriess to discuss.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 20th episode:
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Barter Beer + Mall
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 19, 2025 • 23min
Is "No Taxes on Tips" Really Happening?
The GOP is making good on President Trump's spur-of-the-moment campaign promise to Nevadans by including a "no taxes on tips" provision in their budget bill — but it comes with a few strings attached. Co-host Dayvid Figler sits down with Nevada Independent reporter Gabby Birenbaum to discuss how the provision will impact Southern Nevada and our unique tipping culture.
If you enjoyed today's interview with Barter Beer + Mall's GM, Steve Sansonetti, learn more here.
Learn more about the other sponsors of this May 19th episode:
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Barter Beer + Mall
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the RDA Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 16, 2025 • 31min
A Lawsuit Over Bed Bugs, RTC Bus Safety, and Keeping Doctors in Las Vegas
Two hotels on the Strip, the Luxor and Treasure Island, are getting sued after guests claimed they were "massacred" by bed bugs and left with scars. So, how bad can bed bug bites really get, and is this a frivolous lawsuit? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler are joined by Nevada Current reporter Michael MJ Lyle to talk bed bugs. They also tackle the recent safety upgrades in RTC buses and transit centers, and the doctors from UNLV School of Medicine's inaugural class who are opting to stay in Las Vegas.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 16th episode:
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the RDA Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 15, 2025 • 25min
Tomato Girl, Nachogate, and Vegas' Most Viral Food Scandals
A TikTok influencer was recently trolled after posting a video of herself raving over a simple raw tomato at LPM in the Cosmo (she called it "iconic"). But did she maybe have a point? Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson and newsletter editor Rob Kachelriess (who has tried the tomato in question) to discuss this and other viral food scandals in Las Vegas, from Nachogate to the cotton candy burrito — and which ones actually deserve our outrage.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 15th episode:
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the RDA Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 14, 2025 • 19min
Lake Mead Is in a Crisis. What Now?
Another summer, another Lake Mead update: And this year, it's not looking great. Our snowpack gains this winter were pretty dismal, and the National Weather Service recently even lowered their projections for Lake Powell, whose upstream levels affect Lake Mead's. In light of all this, we're bringing back a conversation that co-host Dayvid Figler had with UNLV hydrology professor David Kreamer. The creation of Lake Mead was not without its costs — so was it worth it? And what happens if we use Lake Mead up?
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 14th episode:
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the RDA Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 13, 2025 • 25min
How To Tell If You're a Real Vegas Local
City Cast Las Vegas co-host Sarah Lohman is coming up on four years of living in Las Vegas — so can she call herself a real Las Vegas local yet, or what? To help answer this question, she talks with co-host Dayvid Figler, lifelong Las Vegan, and artist Brent Holmes, who's clocked 24 years in this town, about the "merit badges" you have to earn before you can call yourself a real Las Vegan (and yes, surviving three summers here counts as one).
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 13th episode:
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the RDA Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 12, 2025 • 26min
Did a Nevada Congressman Just Give Our State's Own Money Away?
Northern Nevada U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei sparked backlash last week with a last-minute public lands amendment to a budget package — and that's because for three decades now, a special law called SNPLMA has sent a portion of federal land sales right back to Nevada's coffers. But Amodei's amendment would instead direct those funds straight to the U.S. Treasury, with nothing for Nevada. Co-host Dayvid Figler talks with Kristee Watson, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, about the controversy and what it could mean for the future of Southern Nevada’s landscape.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 12th episode:
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 9, 2025 • 34min
Robotaxis Recalled, Nevada's Economic Forecast, and the Sphere vs. Beyoncé
After the Sphere issued Beyoncé a cease and desist order (!) for using an image of the Sphere in her concert visuals, she's now replaced it with Allegiant Stadium. Co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman are joined by Andrew Kiraly, creator of TheList.Vegas, to discuss whether or not the Sphere messed up — or if there's more to it. The trio also tackles the recent recall of Zoox robotaxis after an accident with a passenger vehicle, and what the gloomy outlook of the Legislature's Economic Forum could mean for Las Vegans.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 9th episode:
Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST
The Neon Museum
Get tickets to our live episode recording at the RDA Museum on 5/22 HERE
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

May 8, 2025 • 27min
How Chef James Trees is Redefining Food in Las Vegas
With the opening of his latest establishments, Petite Bohème and Bar Bohème, we think it's safe to say that Chef James Trees has created a restaurant empire in Las Vegas — and transformed the Arts District in lasting ways. Today, co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with Chef James to talk about his upbringing on the Eastside running with the "wrong crowd," how restaurants changed his life, what it was like returning to Las Vegas to start his flagship restaurant, Esther's, and where he thinks the dining scene in Las Vegas is headed. (And heads up: This conversation gets spicy!)
As an added bonus: City Cast Las Vegas Neighbors get access to an extended cut of this conversation in their members-only feed. Find out how to join at membership.citycast.fm.
Learn more about the sponsors of this May 8th episode:
Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST
Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or email us at lasvegas@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
For more Las Vegas news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Las Vegas.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Las Vegas? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.