

City Cast Salt Lake
City Cast
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 23, 2025 • 31min
The Julia Reagan Billboard Debate, Permanent Farmers Market, MomTok Parody
You’ve seen her billboards, but do you know her story? Salt Lake Tribune reporter Andy Larsen, socio-pop anthropologist Cassie Bingham, and executive producer Emily Means dive into Julia Reagan’s lore. Plus, a year-round farmers market, a MomTok parody, and a cinematic summer showdown.
Resources and references:
How Julia Reagan's memorial billboards became an internet sensation [Axios]
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
ICO
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC.
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

May 22, 2025 • 31min
What Could Go at the Old Dunkin’ Donuts on 400 South?
Salt Lake City was the fastest growing city in Utah over the past year, according to new data from the U.S. Census. So, how is it that in a city with so much life, we have dozens of vacant and boarded-up buildings? Hey Salt Lake Newsletter editor Terina Ria, producer Ivana Martinez, and executive producer Emily Means dream big about what could go in these spots instead.
Resources and references:
Why Aren’t These Vacant SLC Buildings Housing? [City Cast Salt Lake]
Salt Lake City coffee shops crack down on remote work campers [Axios Salt Lake]
A Funeral For Salt Lake’s Late Restaurants [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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
ICO

May 21, 2025 • 20min
Is Historic Preservation a Tool for NIMBYs or Affordability?
Salt Lake’s east bench is ripe with historic districts — and just got another — but the Westside still has zero. Executive producer Emily Means asks historic preservation expert Chris Jensen about the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to preserving historic buildings, and how to get that coveted local historic district designation.
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
ICO

May 20, 2025 • 33min
2034 Olympics Wishlist, Utah Republican Infighting, Camping for Free
Olympic organizers are hosting a listening tour across Utah, and they want to hear from you … kind of. Executive producer Emily Means and journalist-turned-environmental advocate Kate Groetzinger talk about their wishlists for the 2034 Winter Games. Plus, the hottest gossip from the Republican convention, volunteer camping, and an easy way to weigh in on Salt Lake City's budget.
Resources and references:
Utah Olympic organizers kick off tour to gather community ambitions for 2034 [KUER]
Incumbent Rob Axson defeats Phil Lyman in vote to lead Utah GOP [KSL.com]
Take Salt Lake City's budget priorities survey.
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
ICO
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC.
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

May 19, 2025 • 26min
‘Secret Lives’ and What It Means To Be a Modern Mormon
Did you spend your weekend binge watching season two of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives"? The women of Utah MomTok are back to start drama and challenge our ideas about what being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint is actually like. Host Ali Vallarta asks City Cast Boise host Lindsay Van Allen, a former member of the faith, who gets to decide what it means to be a modern Mormon.
This episode first aired Sept. 16, 2024.
Like this episode? Try "How LDS Culture Shapes Utah’s Beauty Standard" next.
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
ICO

May 16, 2025 • 40min
1,200-Bed Homeless Shelter on Westside? Mushroom Church, Death Club
The state wants to put a 1,200-bed homeless campus somewhere in Salt Lake City, and City Cast has the scoop on one possible location. Executive producer Emily Means, producer Ivana Martinez, and community organizer Chandler Rosenberg discuss the site and its potential impacts. Plus, a psychedelic mushroom church, a new death club, and airport mice.
Resources and references:
State Eyes SLC's Westside For Homeless Campus [Hey Salt Lake]
A psychedelic sacrament. A Provo police raid. What counts as a religion? [KUER]
Inside the 24/7 fight at Utah’s 2 busiest airports to keep migrating birds out of airplane engines [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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
Salt Lake City Arts Council
Salt Lake City Government
The Shop
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC.
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

May 15, 2025 • 22min
Wanna Meet New People in Salt Lake? Here's Some Neighborly Advice.
One of the most commonly asked questions we get is, "How do you make friends here?" Our neighbors seem like the perfect place to start — if we could just work up the courage to say, "hi." Dr. Maria Blevins, associate professor of communications at Utah Valley University, joins executive producer Emily Means to share ways to cut through the awkwardness and be better neighbors.
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
Salt Lake City Arts Council
Salt Lake City Government
The Shop
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off

May 14, 2025 • 22min
Salt Lake’s Best Hidden Gems
Where are Salt Lake’s hidden gems? Local explorer Darienne Debrule tells host Ali Vallarta about tucked away shops, restaurants and experiences you need to check out.
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
Salt Lake City Arts Council
Salt Lake City Government
The Shop
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off

May 13, 2025 • 36min
Utah’s Take on DOGE, Great Salt Lake Fatigue, Lesbian Smashburgers
Gov. Spencer Cox is taking cues from Elon Musk and rolling out Utah’s version of DOGE. Socio-pop anthropologist Cassie Bingham and executive producer Emily Means break down what government efficiency actually means. Plus, a lesbian burger joint, the Great Salt Lake hits national news (again), and a hot seat on the Salt Lake County council.
Resources and references:
Gov. Cox, ‘so excited’ about DOGE, just announced a similar initiative for Utah [Salt Lake Tribune]
The Great Salt Lake is drying. Has Utah lost the will to save it? [Salt Lake Tribune and New York Times]
Corporations Have Rights. Should the Great Salt Lake?
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
Salt Lake City Arts Council
Salt Lake City Government
The Shop
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC.
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.

May 12, 2025 • 23min
How Can SLC Make More Neighborhoods Like Central 9th?
The Central Ninth neighborhood is popping off while downtown SLC fights off chains. Host Ali Vallarta asks Darin Mano, the chair of Salt Lake’s Community Reinvestment Agency, what the city is doing about it.
We reference the episode “How to Keep Main Street Bars From Closing.”
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 Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
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:
Salt Lake City Arts Council
Salt Lake City Government
The Shop
Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST
Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off


