City Cast Pittsburgh

If you’ve been striking out on the dating apps, some small adjustments to your profile might be the way to help you find love. We’re bringing back an episode with journalist and poet, Dani Janae, for her tips to find romantic love — or even a budding friendship — just by being yourself.  Plus, check out a Valentine’s Day love letter from our listeners and newsletter readers answering why they fell...

A Commonwealth Court judge recently ruled that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional. Pittsburgh’s Mallory Falk and Philly’s Trenae Nuri are joined by Dale Mezzacappa, senior reporter for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, to talk about how this ruling could affect students here and throughout the state. You can read Dale’s reporting on the landmark court decision here, and all of her...

It’s the Friday news roundup! City Cast’s Morgan Moody and Elizabeth Kauma are joined by the founder of Pittsburgh Independent, Brian Conway, talking about why the North Side fest is going by a new name, plus we break down the power shift in the Pennsylvania House following this week’s special election and share an amazing local guide to common grocery store goodies. As always, our Friday shows ar...

Whether you prefer wood fired, deep dish, square cuts, or Ohio Valley style with cold cheese (where are our Beto’s fans at?), there’s a slice for everyone in the ‘Burgh. In honor of National Pizza Day, Pittsburgh Magazine food editor Kristy Locklin joins us to dish on her favorites. Kristy's recommendations: Wood Fired by Lorelei Strange Roots Blue Sparrow Driftwood Oven Caliente Pizza and Draft H...

Did you know Pittsburgh more public staircases than any other American city? Some of them are looking a little shabby these days, but the city recently received $7 million in federal funding to restore and repair city steps. As the city figures out which stairways to prioritize, we’re resisting our conversation with Laura aka Mis.steps to learn how Pittsburgh became the staircase capitol. You can...

What’s that in the Pittsburgh air? No, it’s not smog. It’s love. Next week brings two opportunities to celebrate our loved ones: Galentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day. If you need plans, the City Cast team is rounding up our favorite local treats, activities and gifts for both romantic partners and pals. Our recommendations from the episode: For Galentine’s/Palentine’s Day Grab a croissant from Made...

When the city closed a tent camp along Stockton Avenue late last year, officials only gave the people living there a few days’ notice. Crews cleared anything left behind with front loaders, inadvertently scooping up a woman who was still inside her tent. Now two legal advocacy groups have stepped in to ask whether officials violated residents’ civil rights. Amelia Winger, a reporter with PublicSou...

It’s the Friday news roundup! The City Cast team is talking about how anxiety dominates the state’s medical cannabis industry, why a bridge rumored to be unsafe in 2018 is only now getting closed, and how one local artist is turning regional folklore into a tarot deck. As always, our Friday shows are powered by great local journalism.  Ed Mahon in Spotlight PA on anxiety disorders and medical cann...

Every February 2, the lore of a mythical groundhog draws thousands of spectators from all over the world to a small town 80 miles north of Pittsburgh. Punxsutawney Phil sits on his stump and predicts the weather; if he doesn’t see his shadow, that means an early spring. But how accurate are his predictions — and why does PA ride so hard for a rodent? We're teaming up with City Cast Philly this Gro...

In Pennsylvania, there’s one cemetery that can offer a sustainable afterlife – and it’s just outside of Pittsburgh in Verona. City Cast host Morgan Moody and producer Mallory Falk are touring the grounds of Penn Forest Natural Burial Park, the state’s only certified green cemetery, to find out why more people are going out green. And if you want to become a volunteer river ice spotter, check out t...

Pittsburgh is packed with medical centers and doctors, but it can still be a challenge to get an appointment with a trained mental health professional. It was even trickier in the early days of COVID, until the pandemic gave rise to third-party psychiatric platforms. Remote therapy and virtual prescriptions helped increase access to mental healthcare. But as freelance journalist Meg St-Esprit repo...

Pittsburgh prides itself in our strong steel background, but before this city was the world leader in steel production, we were known for a much more delicate material: glass. Anne Madarasz, chief historian at the Heinz History Center, joins us to discuss Pittsburgh’s legacy as “Glass City U.S.A.” You can learn more Pittsburgh glass history at the Heinz History Center exhibit Glass: Shattering Not...

It’s the Friday news roundup! The City Cast team is discussing one school’s attempt to keep cell phones out of classrooms, why more teens are gathering Downtown, and Mayor Gainey’s plan to review whether Pittsburgh non-profits should start paying property taxes. As always, our Friday shows are powered by great local journalism. Terryaun Bell in PublicSource on cell phone bans in schools An-Li Herr...

If you’re planning to get something sweet for Valentine’s Day, need to load up the cookie table at your Pittsburgh wedding, or just want to know where to get the flakiest croissants in the city, the City Cast team has you covered. We're rounding up some of the best treats we've tried from local bakeries that cater to everyone. Our recommendations in this episode: Jean-Marc Chatellier's French Bake...

This time of year, it can seem like Pittsburgh’s been stripped of every color except gray. But if you look closely enough, you might catch a pop of color from a ghost sign. They’re the faded, old-timey advertisements painted on the sides of brick buildings. To beat the winter blues, we’re revisiting our conversation with City Cast contributor (and self-proclaimed ghost sign hunter) Rossilynne Sken...

The Pennsylvania House is in disarray. Lawmakers haven’t been able to agree on basic rules and the House has recessed indefinitely. Now, Speaker Mark Rozzi is going on a listening tour to address the partisan gridlock — and his first stop is in Pittsburgh. Spotlight PA’s Capitol Reporter, Stephen Caruso, joins us to explain how Allegheny County inadvertently set this chaos in motion and where we g...

As a college student, poet and archivist Silas Maxwell Switzer realized he knew almost nothing about Pittsburgh’s queer history — even though he’d grown up here. And when he set out to fix that, he realized there were gaps in the history. Silas’ forthcoming poetry collection, "Nine Parts Water, One Part Bleach," focuses on the AIDS crisis in Pittsburgh and its erasure. He joins City Cast Producer...

It’s the Friday news roundup! City Cast host Morgan Moody and producer Mallory Falk are joined by Pittsburgh City Paper’s Jordana Rosenfeld to discuss her recent reporting on a new proposal to enforce Pittsburgh’s youth curfew, concerns about LGBTQ book censorship in Moon Township, and the Twitter storm around an Allegheny County Council race. As always, our Friday shows are powered by great local...

One of the city’s most popular vegan spots, Apteka, is shifting into burger mode. Crapteka is a three-weekend-long event where the nationally celebrated Bloomfield restaurant switches out its typical Eastern European fare, like pierogi and schnitzel, for burgers. The vegan patties are so popular, they've developed a cult following.  Kate Lasky, co-owner and co-chef at Apteka, joins us to talk abou...

Pittsburgh’s local healthcare giants — UPMC and Allegheny Health Network — are investing billions of dollars to expand throughout the city and surrounding counties with several new specialized and neighborhood hospitals. TribLIVE senior reporter Deb Erdley joins us to talk about how these elaborate construction costs could be added to your next hospital bill. You can read Deb’s reporting on hospit...

In the weeks since Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a hit during a Monday Night Football game, the McKees Rocks native has recovered enough to go home and the NFL has kept on playing. But what does the future look like for the young athlete, who was just starting his career? And can we continue to justify watching a sport that leaves so many players with life-changing injuries? Martenzi...

It’s the Friday news roundup! City Cast host Morgan Moody and producer Elizabeth Kauma are joined by Brian Conway of the Pittsburgh Independent to discuss his reporting on the fate of Pittsburgh’s iconic “orange-lemon flavored drink” and the historic bakery that owns the recipe. Plus, they talk about the latest updates on conditions at the Allegheny County Jail and the Gainey administration’s ambi...

With big local startups like Argo AI and Fifth Season closing last year, remote work enabling people to do their jobs anywhere, and the possibility of a recession looming large, we started wondering whether the death knells are ringing for Pittsburgh’s tech and startup industries. We took the question to Becca Szkutak, a senior writer at TechCrunch+. She joins us to discuss our city’s future as a...

City Cast Pittsburgh launched one year ago today! To celebrate, the team is sharing some interesting things we’ve learned about the Steel City — with help from our very first guest, writer Damon Young. In the newscast, we mention the new digital archive documenting the attack at Tree of Life synagogue. You can access the website here: https://october27archive.org Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6...

City officials and daily commuters celebrated the reopening of Fern Hollow Bridge last month, but dozens more Pittsburgh bridges are rated poor and in need of repair. Don’t expect to see construction soon though; Mayor Ed Gainey’s 2023 budget doesn’t include much funding for fixing our bridges.  So how nervous should we be to cross them? And why isn’t the city budgeting for repairs right away? Cha...