Small Lake City

Erik Nilsson
  • 5.0 (30)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

Small Talk, Big CityJoin host Erik Nilsson as he interviews the entrepreneurs, creators, and builders making Salt Lake City the best place it can be. Covering topics such as business, politics, art, food, and more you will get to know the amazing people behind the scenes investing their time and money to improve the place we call home.Follow along for more!

  1. S2, E20: How Eli McCann Became Utah's Favorite Story Teller

    1d ago

    S2, E20: How Eli McCann Became Utah's Favorite Story Teller

    A lot of people leave a high-demand religion and end up with either a scorched-earth break or a lifetime of quiet resentment. We wanted a third option, so we called up Eli: a gay, ex-LDS writer and lawyer who somehow keeps deep, loving ties with a still-practicing Mormon family while staying honest about why he left. The result is a Salt Lake City conversation about faith, identity, and what it takes to choose peace without pretending the past did not shape you. We talk about coming out with intention, protecting your story from being “used” as an example, and how the emotional arc can shift from anger to something closer to grounded indifference. Eli shares a framework that’s helped him and a lot of us in Utah: separating the church as a corporation from the people you love and the culture you still understand, whether that’s fry sauce jokes or the weird nostalgia of general conference weekends. Then we go deep on creativity and modern media. Eli traces his path from early blogging to a wrong-number text that went viral, to living in Palau, to building a storytelling podcast, to becoming a Salt Lake Tribune humor columnist and author of We’re Thankful for the Moisture. We also unpack the reality of content creation and social media: why “going full-time” can kill the joy, why authenticity beats audience-guessing, and how story-driven TikToks can move people to action without a hard sell. That same storytelling muscle shows up in LGBTQ advocacy with Equality Utah, including the strategy that helped pass a unanimous conversion therapy ban. If you like thoughtful Utah culture talk, ex-Mormon perspectives, LGBTQ stories, writing advice, and the behind-the-scenes mechanics of going viral, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves a good story, and leave a review with the line that stuck with you most. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Visit www.luxeautomotive.com or use this link to request a quote Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    1h 26m

  2. 5d ago ·  Bonus

    Utah Wildfires, Air Quality Warnings, And What’s Still On For July 4

    Smoke is hanging over the Salt Lake Valley, the mountains are barely visible, and it’s not just “summer haze.” We break down what’s behind Utah’s rough early wildfire season, which major fires are driving the worst of the air right now, and what Stage 1 fire restrictions actually mean for real life. If you’ve been wondering whether it’s safe to run outside, take your kids to the park, or hit the trails, we talk through how to use the Utah DEQ AQI, who needs to be extra cautious, and why this moment deserves more than a shrug. Then we pivot to something the city can genuinely celebrate: the Utah Jazz making the No. 2 pick count by selecting Darryn Peterson. We dig into what kind of guard he is, why the scoring upside has people dreaming, and how quickly “I don’t want to be there” draft chatter can flip once a player sees the opportunity and the young core taking shape. Draft night in Salt Lake felt electric for a reason, and it’s worth sitting with that even while the state deals with fire and smoke. We also give you a clear, practical Fourth of July weekend guide with options across Salt Lake and beyond, including drone shows, downtown events, baseball, and the big caveat everyone needs to hear: don’t be the person lighting backyard mortars during a tinder-dry summer. We wrap with quick hitters on the Twilight Concert Series lineup, Bonneville Shoreline Trail closures near the University of Utah, Utah Mammoth NHL free agency movement, and why this year’s FanX is the last chance to catch it at the Salt Palace before renovations. If you missed last week’s conversation with ski icon Tom Wallisch, we point you there, and we tease next week’s guest: Eli McCann. Subscribe for weekly Salt Lake City news and culture updates, share this with a friend who needs plans for the Fourth, and leave a quick review if the show helps you stay plugged in. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    11 min
  3. S2, E19: How Tom Wallisch Changed Freeskiing Forever

    Jun 22

    S2, E19: How Tom Wallisch Changed Freeskiing Forever

    A lot of people see the highlight clip and assume the rest is luck. Tom Wallisch doesn’t. From lapping small hills outside Pittsburgh to becoming one of the defining names in modern freestyle skiing, Tom breaks down the unglamorous parts that made the glamorous moments possible: repetition, confidence built from community, and learning how to evolve when the sport evolves. We talk about the early Newschoolers and YouTube era, when a one minute edit and a comment section could change your entire trajectory. Tom explains how style trends like the Park City tall tee wave weren’t random, they were a choice to stand out, then a willingness to own the lane when people started paying attention. From there, we get into the real shift from filming to high level slopestyle and big air competition, what sponsors expect, and how even small things like picking up poles can be the difference between being “different” and being scored fairly. The conversation goes deeper into longevity: the mindset behind progression, the story of building and hitting a Guinness verified world record rail, and why film segments often outlive medals in your memory. Tom also shares how he transitioned into ski film production and creative ownership with Good Company, and how announcing at X Games and the Olympics became a way to keep freeskiing accessible and respected for new audiences. If you care about freeskiing, terrain park culture, X Games history, Olympic skiing, or how athletes navigate an action sports career transition, this one is packed with lessons you can actually use. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves the mountains, and leave a review with your favorite moment or question you want us to dig into next. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Visit www.luxeautomotive.com or use this link to request a quote Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    1h 13m

  4. Jun 18 ·  Bonus

    Salt Lake City Budget Hikes Explained With Gondola Land Shock

    Your costs in Salt Lake City are changing fast, and the numbers are finally on the table. We walk through the newly adopted Salt Lake City budget and translate it into what residents actually feel: a 12.5% increase to the city’s portion of property taxes, utility rate increases that can add more than $32 a month for a typical household, and the end of the discounted Hive transit pass. We also explain the argument City Hall is making about inflation, rising equipment costs, and why officials say the alternative would be layoffs or service cuts.  Next, we head up to Little Cottonwood Canyon for one of the most eyebrow-raising moves of the week: UDOT spending $7.95 million on land meant for a gondola base station. The project isn’t funded, it’s still tied up in lawsuits, and the state’s own timeline suggests it might not be built until the 2040s. We talk through the case for “land banking,” why critics think the price looks high, and what it means for canyon traffic that’s already a problem right now.  We close with a public lands update that breaks in a rare direction: the attempt to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument management plan fails after a missed deadline, buying time for protections that tribal nations, local businesses, and many Utah voters support. Then it’s a rapid-fire summer roundup: Twilight Concert Series dates, the Utah Arts Festival’s 50th anniversary, Utah Mammoth NHL draft and free agency notes, and a Salt Lake Bees weeknight that still feels like the best deal in town. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about Salt Lake City, and leave a review with the one issue you want us to dig into next. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    11 min
  5. S2, E18: Building A Fantasy Tavern In Salt Lake

    Jun 15

    S2, E18: Building A Fantasy Tavern In Salt Lake

    S2, E18: Thieves Guild Cidery - Max Knudsen & Jordy Kirkman A fantasy tavern where you can grab a tankard of cider, play a board game you’ve never seen before, and watch a Dungeons and Dragons campaign unfold at the next table sounds like a gimmick until you hear how Thieves Guild Cidery actually got built. We sit down with Max and Jordy to trace the real story behind one of the most distinctive Salt Lake City bars and why going all-in on “too nerdy” was the smartest business decision they made.  We talk about growing up nerdy before it was cool, finding community through places like Quarters Arcade Bar, and then taking a lockdown-era homebrew habit to a full-scale craft cider operation. They get honest about the non-glam parts: scaling fermentation from small batches to hundreds of gallons, building a business plan that lives in a spiderweb of Excel sheets, getting outside validation from industry experts, and the surreal moment of asking a bank for “lots of money” and hearing yes.  Then we get into the world-building: DIY props, 3D printing, soldering, custom lighting run by microcontrollers, and why outsourcing the design couldn’t match the vision. Even the bathrooms are part of the experience, from a dark, dramatic, Ministry of Magic-inspired room to the “Paperback Paradise” wall of hilariously altered fantasy covers. We also dig into what’s next, including canned cider drops, getting product into other bars, and Apples and Daggers, their festival that’s aiming for a true adult renn fair vibe in Utah.  If you love Salt Lake City nightlife, craft cider, themed bars, board game bars, or just stories about building something weird and real, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’d actually wear a cloak to happy hour, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Visit www.luxeautomotive.com or use this link to request a quote Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    1h 4m

  6. Jun 10 ·  Bonus

    How A $200,000 Lego Fight Turned Into Arrests

    A $145 million warehouse near the Salt Lake City airport was supposed to become an ICE “megacenter” holding thousands of people and now the story is shifting fast. We walk through the new joint lawsuit from Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County against DHS and ICE, why leaders say the process was “cloaked in secrecy,” and the detail that has everyone watching the property again: after a reported pause for review, semi-trailers start showing up in the back lot and they keep multiplying. If the plan is changing, is it truly a scale-back, or was that the strategy from day one? Then we jump into one of the strangest Utah-adjacent stories to go national: the Bricks and Minifigs saga. A family says a massive Star Wars Lego collection worth around $200,000 disappears after a franchise ownership change. A YouTuber known as Reckless Ben publishes a viral investigation, a GoFundMe surges, confrontations happen in American Fork, and arrests and lawsuits follow. We break down what’s known, what’s alleged, and why “internet justice” can collide hard with real courts and real consequences. We end with the best kind of local news: Centro Civico Mexicano, founded in 1935, is planning a $27 million community and cultural center with a theater, childcare, an art gallery, classrooms, and more, right as the surrounding neighborhood transforms. Plus: the Salt Palace closure timeline, new Utah Supreme Court nominees, the Pentagon’s religious affiliation list controversy, and a reminder that the Utah Arts Festival is coming up and we’re giving away tickets. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review if you want more smart, grounded Salt Lake City reporting every week. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    12 min
  7. S2, E17: Thayne Rich - From Utah Local to Professional Skier

    Jun 8

    S2, E17: Thayne Rich - From Utah Local to Professional Skier

    A 40-hour scramble to Argentina with a dead computer and zero Spanish. A Japan train sprint with ski bags, closed ticket counters, and strangers translating “three stops” into pure stress. And back home in Utah, a kid getting towed into illegal jumps behind a Honda Civic because that is what ski culture looked like before everything was documented. This conversation with pro skier and ski builder Thayne Rich is a reminder that the highlight reel is never the whole story. We start with Salt Lake City roots: growing up around Park City and Alta, learning fearlessness from older brothers, and taking the kind of youthful risks that shaped a generation of freestyle and big-mountain skiers. Thayne breaks down how style evolves from perfectly built park jumps to “janky” natural takeoffs, why Alta remains his favorite playground, and what it takes to progress when you are not the loudest person in the room. From there, we get into ski filmmaking and the real mechanics of making it: sponsors, promo edits, crew dynamics, networking without ego, and the pressure of heli skiing when everything is bigger and steeper than it looks on camera. Then we go deep on the gear side, including how Thayne helped build skis at Forefront, prototyped shapes, and ended up with a pro model that started as a rogue experiment in the shop. If you care about Utah skiing, backcountry culture, action sports careers, ski industry stories, or simply how to keep passion fun as you get older, you will find something here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who lives for winter, and leave a review with your favorite moment from Thayne’s travel chaos and ski-life lessons. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Visit www.luxeautomotive.com or use this link to request a quote Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    1h 8m

  8. Jun 3 ·  Bonus

    Real Salt Lake Lawsuit, New 400 South Trail, And Utah’s June Proclamation

    A 16-year-old signs with a pro club, steps into an adult locker room, and says the people in charge never built basic protections around him. That’s the heart of the biggest Salt Lake City story we’re unpacking this week: a major Real Salt Lake lawsuit filed by former goalkeeper Jeffrey Duznup against RSL, Major League Soccer, and the U.S. Soccer Federation. We walk through the allegations, what’s being claimed about reporting and response, and why this isn’t just “sports drama” but a serious conversation about athlete safety, youth protection, and accountability in professional sports. Then we pivot to something worth celebrating in local news: the new 400 South Viaduct Trail. If you’ve ever tried to cross those railroad tracks on foot or by bike, you know how sketchy it used to feel. Now there’s a protected bike and walking path connecting Poplar Grove and the west side through to downtown and the Granary District, plus nearly 2,000 feet of public art called Strut. We talk about why this project matters for safer commuting, better access, and what “good city infrastructure” actually looks like on the ground. We also get into peak Utah politics with Governor Spencer Cox declaring June “Fidelity Month,” how that lands during Pride Month in Salt Lake City, and what it says about the growing gap between state signals and city culture. To round it out, we hit a fast stack of updates: the Salt Lake Bees’ big May, a long-running Salt City Inn case ending in a conviction, the Utah Arts Festival’s 50th anniversary lineup, and the Utah Mammoth gearing up for the draft and offseason decisions. Subscribe, share this with a friend who follows Salt Lake, and leave a review, and if you want ticket giveaway details, join the Discord via the show notes. Have a Question? Ask it here! Check out the DLX 313 at Via313 today! Questions about buying or selling a home in Utah? Email Spencer spencer.ford@vuere.com or use the contact form here to get in touch Please be sure to like, review, follow, subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family! See you next time  Support the show Join the Small Lake City Discord: https://discord.gg/TYNzMhCxeK Subscribe to the Newsletter! https://www.smalllakepod.com/newsletter-landing-page Instagram: @smalllakepod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SmallLakeCityPodcast TikTok: @smalllakepod

    12 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
30 Ratings

About

Small Talk, Big CityJoin host Erik Nilsson as he interviews the entrepreneurs, creators, and builders making Salt Lake City the best place it can be. Covering topics such as business, politics, art, food, and more you will get to know the amazing people behind the scenes investing their time and money to improve the place we call home.Follow along for more!

Information

  • Creator
    Erik Nilsson
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    214
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Small Lake City
  • Show Website
    Small Lake City

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