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.
Episodes
September 25, 2023 • 23 mins
Fall is a great time of year to head to Southern Utah and visit our “Mighty Five” national parks. But did you know you can experience the beauty and wonder of the parks without ever stepping foot inside one? In part one of our Fall Getaway Guide, host Ali Vallarta joins lead producer Emily Means to share her recommendations for taking in this season’s glory in the shadow of the national parks, without the fees, crowds, and chaos.
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September 22, 2023 • 29 mins
Get ready to open up, Utah, because we’re digging into the state’s most “critical vulnerabilities” as laid out in a new legislative audit. Plus, despite our wet winter and spring, the Great Salt Lake is still in trouble — though it has a new, very famous ally. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta for a therapy session to break down all of our most pressing crises as well as sharing their picks of the week.
Bike Main S...
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September 21, 2023 • 16 mins
The final installment of this season’s Salt Lake Twilight Concert Series hits Gallivan Plaza Friday. Andrea Racine, head of artist relations at S&S and the voice of our theme music, joins host Ali Vallarta to lay down some ground rules for how to be a good concert goer.
Get tickets to Rina Sawayama.
This episode originally aired May 11, 2023.
Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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September 20, 2023 • 23 mins
Salt Lake City recently resurrected a long-forgotten relic of the 2002 Winter Olympics: the Hoberman Arch. The 30,000-pound art installation has a new home near Salt Lake City International Airport — but it’s lived rent-free in host Ali Vallarta’s mind for years. Now that SLC has officially been blessed as the U.S. bid city for the 2030 or 2034 Games, Ali tells lead producer Emily Means the story of the Hoberman Arch.
Read journa...
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September 19, 2023 • 20 mins
Former “8 Passengers” vlogger and Utah mom-fluencer Ruby Franke has been charged with aggravated child abuse. How did this story evolve, and what are the lessons to be learned? Deseret News features writer Meg Walter joins host Ali Vallarta to get candid about the money making business of “sharenting” online and how she grapples with posting about her family.
Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram ...
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September 18, 2023 • 20 mins
Salt Lake City is about to get its first ever sanctioned homeless camp, at 300 S. and 600 W. And if you’re thinking that’s very near the site of the former Road Home shelter, so are we. Lead producer Emily Means got the details from the city and state and tells host Ali Vallarta what we know about this big neighborhood project.
Sign up for future volunteer opportunities around the sanctioned camp, like making welcome packets for n...
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September 15, 2023 • 29 mins
Sen. Mitt Romney announced in a video Wednesday that he will not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2024. Host Ali Vallarta and lead producer Emily Means have big feelings about this decision and ask what the senator’s political legacy will be. Plus, Salt Lake City announces the site of a new sanctioned homeless encampment, and we share our picks of the week.
Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter for a Utah State Fair food ...
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September 14, 2023 • 19 mins
You’ve found it: your special outdoor spot. But if you let people in on the secret, do you run the risk of drawing too much traffic to paradise? And if you don’t share those spaces, what kind of legacy are you enabling? Western Desk founder Madeline McGill joins host Ali Vallarta to examine gatekeeping of our natural lands and who writes the rules for navigating them.
Where to watch the kokanee salmon run.
This episode originally...
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September 13, 2023 • 21 mins
It’s a lot of work to get life-saving Medicaid coverage in Utah. Right now, the state is reviewing the eligibility of every single recipient — and advocates and legislators alike are alarmed by how many people are losing coverage. Consumer advocate Stephanie Burdick joins lead producer Emily Means to break down what’s happening and what she believes the state could do to keep Utahns covered.
Is your Medicaid eligibility up for re...
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September 12, 2023 • 21 mins
A new era is dawning for 300 W. in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood. Road construction is over, and the city’s first ever food truck park is on its way. Building Salt Lake editor Taylor Anderson joins lead producer Emily Means to give us the details on the new park and look ahead to what’s next for 300 W.
Is Salt Lake City the next Austin?
Take the Ballpark NEXT community visioning survey through September.
Subscribe to ou...
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September 11, 2023 • 14 mins
If you’ve tried making an appointment with a health care provider recently, you’ve probably experienced an extremely long wait time to be seen. You’re not the only one. Salt Lake Tribune innovations reporter Sofia Jeremias joins producer Ivana Martinez to break down why Utahns are waiting several months to see a doctor.
Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.
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September 8, 2023 • 26 mins
Big news this week with a primary election, a lawsuit to protect the Great Salt Lake, and households with dogs outnumbering households with kids in Salt Lake City. Producer Ivana Martinez joins lead producer Emily Means to break it all down and share their picks of the week.
Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.
Learn about the drama surrounding Celeste Malo...
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September 7, 2023 • 23 mins
It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of your to-do list. Today, we invite you to slow down and romanticize your Salt Lake life with us. Producer Ivana Martinez and Hey Salt Lake newsletter editor Terina Ria join lead producer Emily Means to share the little Salt Lake City things that bring them joy.
Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.
Looki...
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September 6, 2023 • 16 mins
Cozy season incoming! The leaves and temperature are hinting at the arrival of fall in Salt Lake, and we can’t wait to curl up with the new book we got from an independent book shop. Looking to branch out from big-box stores? Provo-based author Whitney McGruder is on a quest to visit every locally owned bookstore in Utah and shares her top picks with producer Ivana Martinez.
Whitney’s favorite bookstores:
The Legendarium in Salt...
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September 5, 2023 • 25 mins
Primary Election Day is here! Some Salt Lake County residents have municipal races on their ballots. But the big-ticket item — for Republican voters in Congressional District 2 — is the GOP primary to replace outgoing Rep. Chris Stewart. KSL Radio reporter Lindsay Aerts joins lead producer Emily Means to break down the differences between the three candidates and explain the significance of this race.
How and where to vote on Prim...
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September 1, 2023 • 27 mins
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 h...
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August 31, 2023 • 16 mins
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...
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August 30, 2023 • 24 mins
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 Li...
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August 29, 2023 • 19 mins
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.
Lookin...
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August 28, 2023 • 20 mins
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...
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