We really need to rally around Essential Pittsburgh, the daily talk show on WESA 90.5 FM, the local NPR affiliate. The show serves a critical and unique role by giving airtime to important issues for local residents.
The station was gracious (daring?) enough to let me guest host again today. We had three terrific segments looking at…
— Whether it makes sense to move up Pennsylvania’s primary in presidential years. Charlie Gerow makes the strong case that the state should go for it — and take in the additional money and attention that would follow. Bill Green argues against. They actually get pretty hot at one point and I get to play traffic cop.
The Penguin!
— Independent book stores fighting back. I talk with my new friend Susan Hans O’Connor, who has taken over the Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley. Susan has a rich history in the book industry and she’s doing a terrific job of making a strong case for the relevancy of small, independent booksellers.
— The Braddock High School football team of the 1950s. Spoiler alert: The team goes five years without a loss. It’s a pretty incredible story. And author Greg Nichols sets the team’s successes against the backdrop of what was then the largest strike in the steel industry’s history. The book is a fun read. And I got Greg to talk a little about how he recreates scenes that took place a half-century ago.
Andrew Conte 