From the Source

This week, we're asking you to engage in a bit of deep thinking as you meet Etta Cetera. She's not a lawyer or a corrections officer, but she's dedicated to freeing people and changing the options our society has for punishment and justice. We discuss what she sees as the day-to-day injustices that come with imprisonment and how she went from virtually having no political consciousness to adopting the mission of a prison abolitionist.

This episode is a nice palate cleanser after a day or week (or year) of serious news.

For this episode of From the Source, you'll meet the 3rd-grade chef — balancing remote learning and nurturing his passion for cooking — his mom and two local chefs providing tips, advice and support for his dreams of becoming a master chef.

When we began From the Source it was our ambition to help listeners find community with others around how they were getting through working, schooling, running businesses and living with all of the changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. For our 2020 year-end episode we are doing things a little differently, From the Source won't be featuring any sources. Instead, we'll feature ourselves.

For Part 3, Jennie Liska, PublicSource's director of loyalty programs, talks how she has navigated this year as a working mom of two kids, both of whom are not even 10. An avid reader, Jennie talks about how lines have blurred between work and home and how our team has worked to serve our readers when the times called for it.

When we began From the Source it was our ambition to help listeners find community with others around how they were getting through working, schooling, running businesses and living with all of the changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. For our 2020 year-end episode we are doing things a little differently, From the Source won't be featuring any sources. Instead, we'll feature ourselves.

For Part 2, Naomi Harris shares how she has started as a higher education reporter at PublicSource in November during the pandemic and has met only one of her colleagues in person so far. A fan of anime, Naomi talks about her research and sourcing for the upcoming stories on localizing college debt.

When we began From the Source it was our ambition to help listeners find community with others around how they were getting through working, schooling, running businesses and living with all of the changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. For our 2020 year-end episode we are doing things a little differently, From the Source won't be featuring any sources. Instead, we'll feature ourselves.

First up, Jay Manning. Jay is a visual storyteller and producer at PublicSource. A Brazilian martial arts fighter and musician, Jay brings a lot of creativity and passion to our newsroom, and that has come through to you in the form of his photos and video work.

Black women are not a monolith. So, building on the first part of the episode about Black women in Pittsburgh, I spoke with Jahqwhan "Jah" Watson. A native Ohioan by way of Cleveland — who came to Pittsburgh as a Pulse social service fellow last summer —Jah picks up where Naomi Ritter and Janel Young left off. We explore more of what gets left out of the conversation when discussing Black women in Pittsburgh and the unique experiences that shape and cage their identities.

Jah's reflections are important because they've had a life not shaped by what we're used to as long-time residents of Pittsburgh. Their reflections come from trying to acclimate to a city with its own set of systems, rules for socialization and history. Jah's reflections are intimate, authentic and a fresh take on how we talk about Pittsburgh nurturing and shaping Black women.

"Whatever my experience in Pittsburgh is has really sort of like beat me out of myself, and I'm really having to beat back. To come into myself," they said.

The quality of life for the Black woman in Pittsburgh has been the topic of many panels and studies in recent years. From opportunity to education, Pittsburgh has proven to be a challenging, and, at times, fatal place for Black Women to live. On this episode of From the Source I speak with two native Pittsburghers, artists and entrepreneurs, Janel Young and Naomi Ritter, about what they feel gets left out of conversation and news coverage depicting the journey of becoming Black women in Pittsburgh.

2020 is set to see record-breaking participation from voters in the presidential election. But not everyone has plans to vote. In this episode, we talk to Veronica Coptis who runs Coalfield Justice in Washington County about the disillusionment of residents she works with and serves. We also connect with two Pittsburgh women, Ayana Sade and Patrice Bolompe, who are not going to vote. We explore the motivations behind voting abstention and voting as a notion of requirement vs. right.

Season 1 of "From the Source" set out to hear about life in Pittsburgh during the coronavirus pandemic. We heard from business owners, students, parents and others. Then, we shifted attention to the crisis of racism and police brutality against Black people in America — a civil rights movement happening during a health pandemic. Now, we're ending season 1 and would like to hear from you as we plan for season 2. What do you want us to cover? Who should we feature? What stories should we report? Please take this survey today!

Mekka Lloyd, a student at Obama Academy, grapples with how to make progress on the pandemic of racism and balance her views with what her beloved grandmother shares about her own experiences and the history of the Civil Rights Movement.