Podcast
City Cast Salt Lake
Hosted by City Cast · EN
City Cast Salt Lake is SLC’s daily news podcast. Join host Ali Vallarta and a bevy of smart and entertaining locals for conversations about the issues that matter most. City Cast Salt Lake will celebrate the city’s triumphs, explore its history, (try to) solve its mysteries, and it’ll help you feel more connected to the Wasatch Front – whether you’ve lived here for six months or six generations. Learn more and subscribe to our daily newsletter at saltlake.citycast.fm.
75episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Trump’s Great Salt Lake Plan, Progressives vs. McAdams, Ogden Croissants
2d ago00:33:37Tap to summarizeHow does Trump want to spend $1 billion to save the Great Salt Lake? Executive producer Emily Means and City Cast Salt Lake contributors Chandler Rosenberg and Kate Groetzinger break down what "saving" the lake actually looks like. Plus, takeaways from the Congressional District 1 debate, picks of the week, and in our members-only segment: Do three Utah communities hold the secret to long life? Resources and references: Here is what’s in Donald Trump’s $1B plan to save the Great Salt Lake [Salt Lake Tribune] Nate Blouin vows to exit Utah’s CD1 primary if progressive rivals poll higher [KUER] Democratic candidates spar in 1st Congressional District primary debate [FOX 13] Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Canyon View Credit Union
Transcribe →Tips for Befriending Your Neighbors
3d ago00:22:54Tap to summarizeHow can we beat the loneliness epidemic? Try embracing the awkwardness and actually saying "hi" to your neighbor. Dr. Maria Blevins of Utah Valley University gives executive producer Emily Means tips on being a better neighbor. This episode first aired on May 15, 2025. Having a conflict with your neighbor? Learn how to disagree better. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Transcribe →SLC Library Staff Buyouts, Drought Emergency, Baby Moose
4d ago00:37:10Tap to summarizeGov. Spencer Cox declared Utah is in a drought emergency. Executive producer Emily Means, newsletter editor Terina Ria, and City Cast Salt Lake contributor Andy Larsen talk about what's working and what's not to save water. Plus, the Salt Lake City Public Library offered buyout deals to its staff to preempt layoffs, and we share local shoutouts. Resources and references: Utah Gov. Cox issues emergency order as drought covers the entire state [Deseret News] Can low-flow toilets and smart sprinklers solve Utah’s drought? Here’s the problem with the state’s recommendations. [Salt Lake Tribune] SLC library system offers buyouts to its staff citywide [Salt Lake Tribune] Welcome to the world, baby moose! [Instagram] Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we're around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. If you enjoyed our interview with Eric Haymond of Taskrabbit, learn more here.
Transcribe →Hate the Data Center? Watch Utah’s Courts.
5d ago00:32:53Tap to summarizeThe Utah Legislature has been flexing some muscle over the judicial branch. Executive producer Emily Means talks to Teneille Brown, founding member of Co-Equal Utah, about the biggest threat to the courts' independence and how it impacts you. Listen to our conversation with Republican Sen. Todd Weiler about his perspective on the courts. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Canyon View Credit Union Cozy Earth - use code COZYSALTLAKE for up to 30% off Water Lantern Festival
Transcribe →Officer Charged in Shooting, Data Center Vision, Cushy Seats at the Broadway
1w ago00:37:27Tap to summarizeWhat could the Box Elder County data center look like? Executive producer Emily Means and City Cast Salt Lake contributors Jack Stauss and Cassie Bingham talk about new renderings and what's next in the process. Plus, Salt Lake County's district attorney charged a police officer in a shooting for the first time in more than 10 years, picks for your weekend, and in our members-only segment: why Tan France is leaving Salt Lake City and selling his $7.5 million home. Resources and references: Renderings show vision for massive data center proposed in Utah, but permits could take years [Utah News Dispatch] Utahns will have more chances to weigh in on Kevin O’Leary’s data center project. Here’s how. [Salt Lake Tribune] Salt Lake County D.A. Sim Gill has charged a police officer in a fatal shooting for the first time in more than a decade [Salt Lake Tribune] Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: TaskRabbit The Shop Salt Lake Sewciety
Transcribe →Who Wins Summer in the USA? Salt Lake Makes Its Case
1w ago00:54:16Tap to summarizeCity Cast Twin Cities host Sean McPherson hosts this showdown where 12 City Cast reps, including City Cast Salt Lake host Ali Vallarta, compete head-to-head and debate which city is the best for a weekend trip this summer. From hot tub boats (exactly what they sound like) to epic outdoor summer festivals, our hosts are bringing the best of what their city has to offer this season. Can Ali beat out her competitors from Chicago, DC, Denver, Las Vegas, Madison, Nashville, Philly, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, and the Twin Cities? Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: TaskRabbit The Shop Salt Lake Sewciety
Transcribe →The LDS-Mom-to-Influencer Pipeline
2w ago00:20:03Tap to summarizeFrom MomTok to Ballerina Farm, LDS moms over-represent on the internet. Executive producer Emily Means asks Fortesa Latifi, journalist and author of "Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online," why the religion produces such successful influencers and the appeal and consequences of putting your family life online. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: TaskRabbit The Shop Salt Lake Sewciety
Transcribe →Data Center Ripple Effect, Ideal Salt Lake Day, DadTok’s Demise
2w ago00:37:49Tap to summarizeThe conversation around the Box Elder County data center is having ripple effects throughout Utah. Executive producer Emily Means and social media manager Molly Miloscia break down the latest headlines. Plus, crafting an ideal day in Salt Lake and local shoutouts. Resources and references: ‘They asked us to come,’ Kevin O’Leary tells Tucker Carlson of massive Utah data center plan [Salt Lake Tribune] ‘I do not want this in my community’: Southern Utahns confront proposed data center [Salt Lake Tribune] Utah House speaker says Box Elder hyperscale project is bad ‘personally, and for my ranch’ [Salt Lake Tribune] Apply for Salt Lake City's Love Your Block program. Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. If you enjoyed our interview with Laura Allred Hurtado, executive director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts, learn more here. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: TaskRabbit The Shop Salt Lake Sewciety Cozy Earth - use code COZYSALTLAKE for up to 30% off
Transcribe →Will SLC Be Awesome When You’re 65?
2w ago00:29:52Tap to summarizeBy 2060, Utahns older than 65 are estimated to be 23% of the state's population. Are our cities ready for that? Host Ali Vallarta asks Utah Foundation research analyst Ashley Marshall-Cantor about the gaps and bright spots in local aging plans. Anxious About Aging? Retire on a College Campus. [City Cast Salt Lake] Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: TaskRabbit The Shop Salt Lake Sewciety
Transcribe →'Your City Could Be Better': Do DC’s Hated Traffic Cameras Really Make the City Safer? — Presented By City Cast Salt Lake
2w ago00:29:30Tap to summarizeWould Salt Lake City be safer if there were more automated traffic cameras? In 2025, Washington, DC, brought in nearly $270 million from more than 500 automated traffic enforcement cameras — including a single camera that issued $9 million in tickets. City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with City Cast DC podcast co-host Bridget Todd about how these cameras work, the congressional scrutiny they've been getting, and whether they make DC safer. Plus, is DC becoming the new rave capital? Mentioned on the show: "The deadliest road in America" (Vox) Is there something your city is doing that we should be talking about? Email David now! We’re also on Instagram: @yourcitycouldbebetter Looking to advertise on Your City Could Be Better? Check out our options.
Transcribe →