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
June 7, 2024 • 33 mins
Developers want to turn West Valley’s Redwood Drive-In and Swap Meet into housing — for the second time. Executive producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to calculate its odds of survival. Plus, a vacant SLC building gets a sexy makeover, primary ballots hit mailboxes, and a weekend wrestle-off.
If the sponsored interview with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development grabbed your attention, learn more about the Startup S...
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June 6, 2024 • 19 mins
Two Salt Lake chefs are finalists for the 2024 James Beard Awards, and winners will be announced on June 10. But when it comes to the prestigious Michelin star, the travel award often associated with culinary excellence, Utah restaurants haven’t made the cut. Host Ali Vallarta asks food writer and Gastronomic SLC founder Stuart Melling why we haven’t received the blessing and what area restaurants should be on Michelin’s short list...
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June 5, 2024 • 37 mins
The Salt Lake City Council just approved two new historic districts on the east bench. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means pick apart the curious case for historic protections in the Yalecrest neighborhood. Plus, downtown SLC gets a swanky new liquor store, Salt Lake County kids get free access to rec centers, and develop your disposable at a local camera shop.
If the sponsored interview with the Human Rights Campa...
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June 4, 2024 • 27 mins
There are more than 500 parks across Salt Lake County, and host Ali Vallarta is on a quest to visit all of them. After drinking at every bar in Salt Lake last year, Ali joins producer Ivana Martinez to explain her newest project, why parks are worthy investments, and how she plans to beat the odds.
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...
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June 3, 2024 • 22 mins
The Salt Lake City Council is deep in budget season, and every year we wonder: Why is the police department’s piece of the pie so big? Former SLC police chief and Center for Policing Equity consultant Chris Burbank joins host Ali Vallarta to pull back the curtain on the police budget and suggest where we should prioritize its resources.
Resources and references:
Explaining the Salt Lake City Mayor's $475 Million Budget Proposal [...
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May 31, 2024 • 38 mins
How is SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall thinking about the Smith Entertainment Group’s new downtown district around the Delta Center? Salt Lake Tribune reporter Andy Larsen got the mayor on the record and joins host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means to break down what she had to say as well as what’s to like and dislike about the project so far. Plus, ways to celebrate Pride, Real Salt Lake is making a comeback, and a new pl...
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May 30, 2024 • 26 mins
If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast Salt Lake community.
Grab your produce tote and slap on the sunscreen because June marks the official start of summer in Salt Lake. Host Ali Vallarta and Kendall Rodriguez, TikTok’s Queen of SLC, bring you a guide to what to expect and how to make the most of this month, including the best vendors at t...
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May 29, 2024 • 30 mins
A Salt Lake City building burned down this weekend, right before it was scheduled for demolition — and it’s not even the first time that’s happened. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means put on their tinfoil hats and muse on the importance of fire preparedness. Plus, setting the record straight on Abravanel Hall, the Midtown Business District wants your input, and Utah’s statuesque representation in D.C.
If the spon...
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May 28, 2024 • 17 mins
Throw a stone on Capitol Hill, and you’ll probably hit a Utah lawmaker with ties to real estate development. But a new analysis by the Salt Lake Tribune breaks down just how many of our state’s most influential decision makers have their hands in both honeypots. Reporter Emily Anderson Stern tells host Ali Vallarta how it impacts our affordable housing crisis.
Resources and references:
See what connections your lawmaker has to Ut...
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May 24, 2024 • 25 mins
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall is asking for a $44,000 raise. Has she earned it? Executive producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to discuss how this pay bump measures up to other mayors and how residents can weigh in. Plus, the hottest new mode of transportation, Memorial Day pool openings, and a (probably) last-ever sidewalk sale.
Resources and references:
SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall wants to give herself a hefty rai...
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May 23, 2024 • 19 mins
A local family is in a heated campaign with Veterans Affairs to keep their mom 40 miles closer to Salt Lake. Salt Lake Tribune reporter Sofia Jeremias joins host Ali Vallarta to share the story of Patricia “Pat” Gallegos Delgado and brainstorm what policies could do more for our city’s veterans than a Memorial Day tweet.
We’re doing our annual survey to learn more about our listeners. We’d be grateful if you took the survey — it’s ...
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May 22, 2024 • 20 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.
This episode originally aired April 17, 2023.
We’re doing our an...
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May 21, 2024 • 32 mins
Utah’s water forecast is looking pretty damn good as we head into summer. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means take a look at the Great Salt Lake, our reservoirs, and when you should really be watering your lawn. Plus, the Salt Lake City Council considers a handful of tax increases, and Ali and Emily share local shoutouts.
Resources and references:
Utah water forecast appears good headed into summer [Great Salt La...
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May 20, 2024 • 18 mins
National headlines proclaim we saved the bees. That’s great news for us in the Beehive State, but we might have saved the wrong one. Bee researcher Jesse Margolies joins host Ali Vallarta to mythbust which bees need saving and share ways Salt Lakers can support local pollinators.
Resources and references:
Wait, does America suddenly have a record number of bees? [Washington Post]
Utah Pollinator Habitat Program
Gardening for...
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May 17, 2024 • 33 mins
Utah Auditor John Dougall is picking a fight with the legislature after they made him the state’s new bathroom monitor. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means break down the political implications and bathroom design ideas stemming from this ongoing showdown. Plus, Salt Lakers give their quality of life a C-minus, free bike workshops, and a cheap date idea.
Resources and references:
State Auditor John Dougall’s bathr...
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May 16, 2024 • 21 mins
Salt Lake can claim another reality TV star now that season two of TLC’s “MILF Manor” has dropped. Businesswoman and certified hot mom Barby Garcia talks to host Ali Vallarta about busting Utah stereotypes and where she absolutely would not take her costars in SLC.
Resources and references:
Bethenny Frankel’s reality TV union is easier said than done [Vox]
Utahns’ Quiet Obsession With Med Spas [City Cast Salt Lake]
Consider be...
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May 15, 2024 • 26 mins
The U.S Supreme Court is poised to make a big decision around cities’ policing of homelessness in public spaces. University of Utah parks and recreation professor Jeff Rose joins host Ali Vallarta to break down how this court case could impact access to Salt Lake’s parks and have a chilling effect on our First Amendment rights.
Resources and references:
Salt Lake City Homeless Services Dashboard
How Salt Lake Criminalizes Home...
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May 14, 2024 • 33 mins
The University of Utah will shutter its Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to comply with a new state law. Producer Ivana Martinez joins host Ali Vallarta to break down what’s at stake for employees. Plus, Utah families are $2.8 million in debt for school lunches. And, we shout out some bagel news in Holladay and a neighborhood resource for free stuff.
Resources and references:
University of Utah EDI Director Breaks Cult...
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May 13, 2024 • 32 mins
The Salt Lake City Council is weighing everything from raising sales tax to razing city blocks; Big, controversial decisions that could change the look and feel of our city for decades. Council Chair Victoria Petro tells host Ali Vallarta how she’s making choices on our behalf with “cautious skepticism” — from the mayor’s $475 million budget proposal to the future of downtown.
Resources and references:
How to participate in the Ma...
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May 11, 2024 • 2 mins
Hey there! We are excited to share the trailer for a new special limited series from our friends and colleagues at City Cast Denver. If you’re a fan of what we do at City Cast, you’ll want to check it out:
You’ve probably heard a story about Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. Like, how she got kicked out of a production of “Beetlejuice” for vaping and groping her date. Or, that time she heckled President Biden during his State of the U...
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