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City Cast Salt Lake

David Plotz

City Cast is committed to tracking–and publishing–demographic information about our podcast guests. Diversity is a 

, and accountability is another. We want to have podcast guests who are diverse in race and ethnicity, gender, economic background, and geography. Tracking guest demographics is a way to hold us accountable for representing the diversity of Salt Lake.

So are we living up to our values? How diverse is our podcast guest pool, really?

This is the third year of data we have about City Cast Salt Lake’s guests. (

.) We ask each of our podcast guests a few questions about their gender identity, racial/ethnic identity, and neighborhood. About 90% of guests responded in 2025. The following data encompass a total of 78 guests who appeared on the podcast between Nov. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2025.. (We did not count City Cast Salt Lake staffers who appeared on the podcast.)

We then used census data to compare our podcast guests to the broader city and metro populations. This helps us see how well we’re reflecting the community we’re serving.

City Cast Salt Lake had a higher percentage of Black guests than the city and metro area, and a higher percentage of white guests than the community. City Cast Salt Lake had fewer Hispanic/Latinx guests in 2025 than in 2024, down from 14% to 5%, which is also well below the local population.

We also asked about gender identity. A 51% majority of our guests identified as male, with 47% identifying as female, and 3% identifying as non-binary.

Learn more about guest diversity on other City Cast podcasts here.

This is the third year of data we have about City Cast Salt Lake’s guests. We ask each of our podcast guests a few questions about their gender identity, racial/ethnic identity, and neighborhood.

How Diverse Were City Cast Salt Lake’s Podcast Guests in 2025?

News and updates about the City Cast Salt Lake podcast and Hey Salt Lake newsletter.

City Cast Salt Lake Announcements

Announcements

Thank you to everyone who showed up in costume at 801 Day, you all looked fab! Now, it’s time to 

 cool swag bag. We’ll announce the winners in the newsletter this Friday, Aug. 8.

Choose your Salt Lake City icon

801 Day Costume Contest

Utah and Salt Lake City leaders have been tight-lipped about where the state's planned 

 could go, but City Cast has learned a potential location for the proposal: on 2200 West between 2100 and 2600 North, in Salt Lake City's Westpointe neighborhood.

State Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, represents the area and told City Cast she met with residents on April 30 to discuss the site. Escamilla said others attending the meeting included Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Council Member Victoria Petro, police Chief Brian Redd, and state Homeless Coordinator Wayne Niederhauser. City Cast also talked with a property owner in the area, Angela Taylor, who attended the meeting and said officials mentioned they were eyeing land "on 2200 West, with I-215 being the neighbor to the east."

According to Escamilla, it's one of a handful of locations the Utah Homeless Services Board is considering for a facility that has been described as a 30-acre 

"transformative, centralized campus model."

 The senator said she's been told this spot on Salt Lake City's Westside is among the top options.

Still, the state won’t confirm the site. In a statement to City Cast, Sarah Nielson, a spokesperson for the Office of Homeless Services, said a final selection hasn't been made.

"The Office of Homeless Services is actively evaluating potential locations for a transformative campus, as directed by the Utah Homeless Services Board," Nielson said. "Our office remains committed to working collaboratively with municipalities, residents, businesses, and all stakeholders in the statewide homeless response while ensuring public safety and benefitting the communities involved."

Similarly, Andrew Wittenberg, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office, had little to share, but in a statement said, “Mayor Mendenhall remains steadfast in her desire to see the creation of additional, permanent shelter options. Our understanding is the State Office of Homeless Services is currently evaluating numerous locations, but we cannot confirm any additional details at this time.”

Regardless of whether the Westside location becomes the final site, some residents have already sounded the alarm. A post on the Rose Park Communities Facebook page claims the shelter would 

 and open space. Additionally, North Salt Lake community members appear to be circulating a petition on Change.org, 

 for being “too close to schools,” among other concerns. As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had 224 signatures.

The Utah Legislature paved the path for the campus landing in Salt Lake City earlier this year. A new law allows the state to 

 to put the shelter in Salt Lake City. And the clock is ticking: The Homeless Services Board set a deadline of October 2025 to build the facility.

Now, it's just a matter of where exactly it'll go. Wherever it's located, it's sure to draw strong feelings from community stakeholders. Many Westside residents in particular have long felt their neighborhoods are disproportionately targeted, a sentiment echoed by Sen. Luz Escamilla.

"We want to see a more robust system that is helping this vulnerable population," she said.

"But we also want to make sure that everyone in Utah is sharing that responsibility. Not just the Westside of Salt Lake City."

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

Utah and Salt Lake City leaders have been tight-lipped about where the state's planned 1,200-bed homeless campus could go, but City Cast has learned a potential location for the proposal: on 2200 West between 2100 and 2600 North, in Salt Lake City's Westpoint neighborhood.

State Eyes SLC's Westside For Homeless Campus

Welcome to City Cast Salt Lake Neighbors, our newly revamped membership program that helps deepen your connection to Salt Lake. Here’s everything you need to know about our growing Neighbor community.

What It Means to Be a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor

At City Cast Salt Lake, our team brings you the stories that matter — right here in our own backyard. We dig deep into the conversations shaping our communities, with the residents who give the city its heartbeat. In a time with increasing rhetoric and a barrage of national headlines, we spotlight the conversations impacting our neighborhoods, and celebrate the neighbors who make Salt Lake unique.

Because better neighbors make for better cities.

 And City Cast Salt Lake Neighbors are the best.

Your membership directly supports local journalism and the stories you rely on to better understand Salt Lake. Here’s what else you get:

 You’ll get access to regular events like special insider tours, local volunteering meetups, happy hours with other City Cast Salt Lake Neighbors, and other Neighbors-only events where we share ideas about how to make the city better for everyone.

submit your favorite local business or organization

 to be mentioned in the show and in the Hey Salt Lake newsletter. It’s your chance to shine a light on the local spots making a difference.

 right in your inbox every Monday, so you can make the most of your time in the city.

 A special feed just for Neighbors where you can listen to the City Cast Salt Lake podcast without advertisements.

Become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor and help us build a better city, one good neighbor at a time.

Join the growing community of City Cast Salt Lake Neighbors

Here’s everything you need to know about our new membership program, expanded benefits, and member exclusives.

 What Is City Cast Neighbors?

Introducing City Cast Salt Lake Neighbors

Good afternoon, Salt Lakers. We’re bringing you some breaking news about the Sundance Film Festival.

The town of Boulder, Colorado has been announced as the Sundance Film Festival’s new home, beginning in 2027.

Park City hosted the glitzy celebration of independent filmmaking for more than 40 years — a source of pride for Utahns and $132 million in economic impact.

This morning, festival organizers rejected bids from Cincinnati, Ohio and a joint bid from Park City/Salt Lake City, leaving more than $13 million in public and philanthropic dollars on the table in Utah.

The Sundance Institute has been coy about the cause of this move, but journalists have pointed out the 

 in the wake of the pandemic, and clashes with 

For more context on what this move means for Utahns, listen to the 

BREAKING NEWS: Sundance Film Festival To Leave Utah

City Cast is committed to tracking — and publishing — demographic information about our podcast guests. Diversity is a 

This is the second year of data we have about City Cast Salt Lake’s guests. (

.) We ask each of our podcast guests a few questions about their gender identity, racial/ethnic identity, and neighborhood. About 90% of guests responded in 2024. The following data encompass a total of 97 responding guests who appeared on the podcast between Nov. 1, 2023 and Oct. 31, 2024. (We did not count City Cast Salt Lake staffers who appeared on the podcast.)

As you can see in the chart, City Cast Salt Lake’s guests broadly mirrored the population of the city and region. We had a significantly higher percentage of Black guests than the city and metro area, and a slightly higher percentage of white and Asian-American guests than the community. City Cast Salt Lake had fewer Hispanic or Latinx guests than you’d expect based on Salt Lake’s population, but significantly more than in 2023 — up from 10% to 14%.

We also asked about gender identity. A 56% majority of our guests identified as female, with 44% identifying as male.

This is the second year of data we have about City Cast Salt Lake’s guests. We ask each of our podcast guests a few questions about their gender identity, racial/ethnic identity, and neighborhood.

How Diverse Were City Cast Salt Lake’s Podcast Guests in 2024?

Many of you have expressed interest in a book club and now, it’s happening! Here’s the 411 on how to get involved.

” by Zak Podmore. The book explores the complex politics of the Colorado River (our water source), what we do if Lake Powell dries up, and why it might even be an opportunity! It’s a must-read for anyone who uses water in the west (I’m guessing that’s you). Zak is an award-winning journalist and fun writer — come for the stories, stay for the insight.

All City Cast Salt Lake members can join our book club! If you’re not already, 

Members will receive a discount code on Tuesday, Oct. 1., for 25% off the book from Torrey House. We recommend ordering your book on that day to make sure you receive it by our first discussion.

City Cast Salt Lake podcast host Ali Vallarta will be sending 3 discussion emails (Oct. 16, Oct. 30, and Nov. 13) to members as we read the book. Live discussions will take place on the brand new City Cast Salt Lake Discord server. You must be a member to receive these emails and join our Discord server.

We’ll wrap up the first ever City Cast Salt Lake Book Club with an in-person event on Wednesday, Nov. 20 in SLC. Host Ali Vallarta will interview author Zak Podmore in a live episode taping. This event is only open to members and there will be a Q&A with the author for book club participants.

Become a member

Join City Cast Salt Lake’s Book Club

When we launched City Cast in 2021, we committed to tracking–and publishing–demographic information about our podcast guests. Diversity is a 

.) We ask each of our podcast guests a few questions about their gender identity, racial/ethnic identity, and neighborhood. About 95% of guests responded in 2023. The following data encompass a total of 115 responding guests who collectively made 154 podcast appearances from Nov. 1, 2022 through Nov. 9, 2023. (We did not count City Cast Salt Lake staffers who appeared on the podcast.)

We then used census data to compare our podcast guests to the broader city population. This helps us see how well we’re reflecting the community we’re serving.

As you can see in the chart, City Cast Salt Lake’s guests broadly mirrored the population of the city and region. We had a significantly higher percentage of Black guests than the city and metro area, and a slightly higher percentage of white and Asian-American guests than the community. But City Cast Salt Lake had about half the Hispanic guests you’d expect based on Salt Lake’s population–only 10% compared to 20% for the city.

There are understandable reasons for this shortfall: Many Hispanics and Latinx people are immigrants, and immigrant communities are traditionally hard for journalists outside those communities to access. Some may not consume much English-language media. As a result, Hispanic/Latinx residents of Salt Lake may be less likely to know City Cast Salt Lake and be part of the community we’re building. But we need to keep pushing to get more excellent Hispanic/Latinx guests on City Cast Salt Lake.

We also asked about gender identity. A 58% majority of our guests identified as female, with 41% identifying as male and 1% identifying as non-binary. City Cast Salt Lake had the highest percentage of female guests of any podcast in the 11-city 

Diversity is a core City Cast Salt Lake value, and accountability is another. Here's how diverse our City Cast Salt Lake podcast guests were in 2023.

How Diverse Were City Cast Salt Lake’s Podcast Guests in 2023?

Since launching City Cast Salt Lake a year and a half ago, we’ve published more than 400 editions of this newsletter and our podcast.

Along the way, a bunch of folks have asked us how to support our work. Now we finally have a good answer.