City Cast Las Vegas

Flag football has grown a lot as a sport since it reached Clark County high schools in 2012. Recently approved to debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the sport has gained attention among girls and people concerned about brain injuries such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. In partnership with the Raiders, UNLV’s School of Public Health developed the RUSH program to address mental health for middle school girls by increasing their awareness of the rapidly-growing sport of flag football. Professor Dr. Jennifer Pharr shares details about the program and the future of high school sports in Las Vegas with co-host Dayvid Figler. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Goodmans forever changed the role of the mayor of Las Vegas. So who should be next to fill their shoes? In this latest episode of Mayoral Mondays, our special series on the 2024 Las Vegas mayoral race, co-host Dayvid Figler sits down with candidate Cedric Crear. Cedric has had a long career in marketing and advertising here in the Valley, served on the Board of Regents, and was elected to the Las Vegas City Council in 2018. We chat about his track record as a councilman, his fixes for homelessness, and when and how he’d resolve conflicts of interest when voting on issues in the council chambers. Stay tuned for more upcoming candidate interviews. Listen to Shelley Berkley here and Victoria Seaman on May 13. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our special series on the Las Vegas mayoral race, executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson interviews mayoral candidate Kola Akingbade, a proud Nigerian-born American with a background in engineering, the ministry, and real estate. They talk about his history of running for office in Nigeria, how he plans to “offset the offseason” in Las Vegas with economic development, and how legalizing prostitution could help tackle homelessness. Find more of our coverage on the Las Vegas mayoral race here. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our special series on the Las Vegas mayoral race continues: Today, co-host Dayvid Figler interviews mayoral candidate Tera Anderson, a second-generation Las Vegan. They talk about how her experience as a businesswoman working in land and economic development influences how she’d tackle affordable housing, the Badlands brouhaha, and growth in our urban center. Find more of our coverage on the Las Vegas mayoral race here. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The June primary election is fast approaching, and one primary race stands out: In State Senate District 3, located here in Las Vegas, the Culinary Union has posted their own challenger as a show of dissatisfaction with the incumbent’s stance against one of their bills. It’s shaping up to be a referendum on Culinary’s power — what else is at stake here? Co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman are joined by Nevada Current editor April Corbin Girnus to discuss. Plus, the team discusses the recent sentencing of controversial self-described “first amendment auditor” and YouTuber Jose “Chille” DeCastro, as well as the Raiders’ new cruise launching next spring (is it a dream or a nightmare vacation?). We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes a great taco? Does Vegas have a taco style? And crucially, is a hot dog a taco? Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with artists and taco enthusiasts Justin Favela and Brent Holmes to answer these and more hard-hitting questions. Plus, we hear about their favorite tacos around Las Vegas, from cheesy, drippy quesabirria to crunchy, crisp fish tacos. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. All the taco spots mentioned in this episode: Tacos el Gordo on Charleston & 17th Guisos de el Canelo on Pecos and Charleston The original Lindo Michoacán on East Desert Inn Antojitos D.F. on Flamingo and Pecos Tacos El Compita on Charleston and Jones The original Tacos Tijuana at Broadacres Los Tacos on Charleston and 17th Carnitas y Tortas Ahogadas Guadalajara on Bonanza and Eastern Juarez Border Food El Paso on Bonanza and Eastern Habanero Grill on Rainbow and Smoke Ranch Mariscos Playa Escondida on Charleston and Maryland Bajamar on Las Vegas Blvd and Oakey Abuela’s Tacos on Sahara and Lamb El Tamalucas on Las Vegas Blvd and Pecos Tacotarian, various locations Durango Taco Shop, various locations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the old Nevada lore goes, Senator Harry Reid rose up in battle and killed the Yucca Mountain beast in faraway DC, leaving it good and dead. Right? Well, not exactly. The contested nuclear waste site, just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has recently come up again in a Congressional hearing, putting the Nevada delegation and state nuclear commision officials on red alert. Today, co-host Dayvid Figler talks with Nevada Independent reporter Gabby Birenbaum about what danger these new rumblings pose, how an election year plays into the nuclear politics, and what it would take to put a stake in the heart of Yucca Mountain. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Las Vegas community. Our pre-summer weather is really kicking in so while you clean out the meltable items from your car, you can plan to make the most out of your month in Las Vegas with our May guide. From a cactus oasis to how to enjoy the Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival, tune in for activity recommendations and tips that you’ll only hear from locals. If you love our guest CoCo Jenkins, CEO of @nothingtodolv on Instagram, check out our episode on the best non-touristy things to do in Vegas. For even more tips on how to make the most of May in Las Vegas, check out Hey Las Vegas’s take on what to do this month. And we’re also powered by our members, who enjoy an ad-free version of the show. Find out more about how to become a member of City Cast Las Vegas. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info here. Reach us at lasvegas@citycast.fm, follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram, or call or text us at 702-514-0719. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though only a third of the valley can vote for the Las Vegas mayor (here’s why), the role has become a bully pulpit on the global stage. So who should be our city’s next spokesperson? In our second installment of Mayoral Mondays, our special series on the 2024 Las Vegas mayoral race, we sit down with candidate Shelley Berkley. Shelley enters the race after serving in the Nevada Assembly, on the Board of Regents, and in the United States Congress as Las Vegas’s representative for seven terms between 1999 and 2013. She and co-host Dayvid Figler sit down to talk about how she'd tackle affordable housing, the Badlands lawsuits, and homelessness in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for more upcoming candidate interviews: Cedric Crear on May 6 and Victoria Seaman on May 13. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that Mojave Max has finally emerged, we can officially welcome you to spring on this week’s Friday News Roundup. After a local restaurant owner discovered ghost kitchens posing as popular established restaurants on UberEats, four local restaurants filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber and related parties. Uber paused applications for virtual kitchens on the app on Tuesday, but the affected businesses want more. Also this week, the Supreme Court of the United States is weighing in on a case from the 9th Circuit Court — which oversees Nevada — that struck down a law banning camping in public places. Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler are joined by Nevada Current reporter Michael Lyle to break down the week of news. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American restaurateur and writer David Chang almost broke the foodie internet when he declared “the best Chinese food in America is in Las Vegas” on his Instagram earlier this year. While we are inclined to accept any food flattery towards Las Vegas, we needed some proof. Co-host Dayvid Figler sits down with Review-Journal restaurant reporter Johnathan L. Wright, a major Chinese food fan, to ask what makes Las Vegas the Chinese food destination in America and where to find the best bites. Restaurants mentioned: Shanghai Taste Xiao Long Dumplings Wing Lei at the Wynn Red Plate at The Cosmopolitan Mott 32 The Noodle Man on S. Rainbow Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast Chinglish Cantonese Wine Bar Xiang Wei Xuan China Mama Palette Tea Lounge Chengdu Taste We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How well do you really know the Strip? Today, our resident Vegas insiders, co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman, along with newsletter editor Rob Kachelriess, spill their favorite hidden gems from around the Strip: From little-known historical oddities and quiet places for reflection to the best food and drink surprises they’ve discovered. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Myths about Las Vegas go all the way back to our city’s earliest days. Today, journalist Corey Levitan, creator of the Vegas Myths Busted series at Casino.org, quizzes our two hosts, Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman, about how well they know old Vegas history. Play along and let us know how you did! We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This June, for the first time in 25 years, Las Vegas voters will face a mayoral ballot without a single Goodman on it. But given our valley’s odd jurisdictional boundaries, less than half of Southern Nevadans actually live within the city and can vote for the Las Vegas mayor. So why does this election matter to the whole Vegas Valley? How did the Mayors Goodman transform the role for a global stage — and what’s next for our city? Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with Channel 13 senior political reporter Steve Sebelius to find out. Today’s episode kicks off Mayoral Mondays, our special series on the 2024 Las Vegas mayoral race. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast and the Hey Las Vegas newsletter to stay up to date on candidate interviews and more! We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Friday News Roundup, we lay out all the details from a Henderson police barricade situation that resulted in the suspect deceased and the front of a home ripped away. Also, Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant gets a policy she voted for wrong and issues an apology after receiving backlash in videos posted to social media. Lastly, National park rangers are asking the public to help identify two men videoed pushing over ancient rock formations at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Dayvid Figler is joined by his co-host Sarah Lohman and local policy wonk and communications lead at Battle Born Progress Jacob Solis. Also, a few announcements: Make sure to tune in on Monday, April 22nd for the launch of our new series, Mayoral Mondays. We kick things off with a conversation with Channel 13’s senior political reporter Steve Sebelius on why this mayoral race is important to everyone in the Valley, even if you can’t vote on the position. After that, we have interviews with the candidates airing every Monday until the election. As of this weekend, we’re airing our Friday News Roundups on KUNV (91.5 FM) on Sunday mornings at 6 a.m. So if you are tuning in for the first time welcome! We discuss the week’s top news every Friday in addition to daily episodes and newsletters Monday through Friday. You can learn more at lasvegas.citycast.fm. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kroger-Albertsons merger proposed in 2022 is still in the works, but the FTC has raised alarm bells about the consequences a merger of this magnitude would have on consumers. And about a month ago, the Nevada Attorney General’s office announced it was joining the FTC and seven other states in a lawsuit to block the proposal. So today, we’re revisiting a conversation co-host David Figler had in September with food justice writer Kim Foster and Nevada Current editor April Corbin Girnus about the impact a merger like this would have on our city, grocery workers, and consumers. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people know a little about the mob and their part in building the Las Vegas we know today, but what you might not realize is how integral burlesque was in cementing Vegas’ sinful status. As new burlesque shows pop up left and right in the city, co-host Sarah Lohman takes a look back on the history of the American art form with burlesque stars Dirty Martini from DITA Las Vegas and Buttercup from the Burlesque Hall of Fame. They discuss why we are seeing a revival and how Las Vegas can help fight the misconceptions of burlesque. Shows mentioned: DITA LAS VEGAS: A Jubilant Revue at the Horseshoe Lady Like: A Retro Modern Burlesque Show at Virgin Hotels The Jiggle Room at Cheapshots Lost Spirits Distillery at AREA15 (closing April 29) Viva Las Vegas (Rockabilly Weekend) at The Orleans on April 18 - 21 Sinful: A Night of Sin City’s Finest Stripteasers at The Fat Cat on May 11 Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender at The Orleans on June 6 - 9 We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re only four months into 2024, but we’ve already heard some infuriating, hilarious, or, honestly, kinda out-there quotes on Vegas issues in the news. So today, Executive Producer Sonja Cho Swanson invites co-hosts David Figler and Sarah Lohman to a game of “Guess Who Said It” to reflect on all the shenanigans our city finds itself in and, of course, win some bragging rights! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

O.J. Simpson died at his home in Las Vegas on Thursday at age 76; the cause was cancer. He’s arguably one of our city’s most controversial celebrities, trailed by the specter of that notorious 1995 murder trial, and then later, his 2008 conviction for armed robbery at Palace Station right here in Vegas. Co-host Dayvid Figler, who is also a lawyer, was there in 2008 as an expert commentator for Court TV — he and executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson discuss the stakes of that trial (and what made it so unusual), why O.J. made Las Vegas home after serving time in Nevada, and what he means to our city of second chances, for better and worse. We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New details have emerged about the acrimonious child custody case at the heart of the Summerlin law firm shooting — but it also raises the question, how did things get this bad in the first place, and are we talking about this all wrong? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler sit down with contributor Andrew Kiraly, creator of thelist.vegas, to discuss. Next up, we break down just why the monorail is feuding with media outlets over reports of its eventual demise, and wrap up with the curious case of a strip club lawsuit: Spearmint Rhino is suing Peppermint Hippo over copyright infringement… but is there really any confusion? We wrap up with a little game: What would your knock-off Vegas business be named? We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719. Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices