One of the few solaces we can take right now is the knowledge that pandemics are relatively rare. As we’re seeing, however, their impact is wide-reaching in the moment.

 

Look to a century ago, when the 1918 “Spanish flu” — as it was popularly known, but a misnomer — swept the world and killed 675,000 Americans. In Pittsburgh, over 4,500 succumbed.

 

In this episode of the P100 Podcast, we’ll compare the 1918 flu to today’s COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the positive difference a century makes — and the all-too-similar human tragedy that we’re enduring. Thank you for listening and stay healthy.

We’re living through an unprecedented time in American history. Businesses are closed, schools are shuttered, and gatherings are canceled, all because of an invisible, infectious agent that our modern world hasn’t been able to match — not yet, anyway.

Marking the unique circumstances, we spent the most recent episode of the P100 Podcast discussing the effects of COVID-19 on daily life (including our own), how people and businesses can help their communities, and how they can communicate during a crisis.

If you’re hitting the download button or streaming from your “office away from the office,” thank you for listening and stay safe.

 

Full Transcript:

Paul:

Welcome back to a special edition of the P100 podcast, the audio companion to the Pittsburgh 100 e-zine. This episode, solely focused on COVID-19, the coronavirus. I'm Paul Furiga, your cohost along with my colleagues, Dan Stefano…

Dan:

Hey Paul.

Paul:

And Logan Armstrong.

Logan:

Hi Paul.

Paul:

And I want you all to know at home we are practicing safe social distancing. In fact, we are so far away from you while you're listening to us right now ... well, that's another story. Seriously though, given the times that we're in, we thought that we would devote this entire episode of the podcast to understanding how we, as a community can deal with this. I've never seen a situation like this in my lifetime and as Dan and Logan frequently remind me, I'm old.

Dan:

I think you got a point there. I mean, I've tried to think of this in context of my own life. I'm 33 and I would say the most impactful thing that has ever occurred in my lifetime was 9/11.

Paul:

Right.

Dan:

And I was in high school whenever that happened. That was a time whenever the stock market cratered. The next day all air traffic was suspended. It was severely drastic. It took a long time for American life to get back to normal then. Whatever the new normal was, I should say. But this seems like it could be something different. There's a lot of uncertainty in the air, which there was at that time in 2001 for sure, but when we're talking about a virus here, we're talking about something that we don't have a vaccine for, it's a little bit scary right now. And I feel like the streets are even ... it's weird to be walking downtown. At the WordWrite offices here, we're getting ready to practice social distancing and work from home.

Paul:

Work from home, yeah.

Dan:

I could say in some ways it feels similar to those days after 9/11 but it's very different too.

Paul:

Absolutely. Logan.

Logan:

Yeah. And I'm a little younger. So I'm only 22.

Dan:

Little.

Logan:

I was a young kid when 9/11 happened. But also especially with what we're seeing in the market right now, very reminiscent of the 2008 era, which of course this has a few different causes than in 2008. But we've seen people are going crazy at supermarkets…

Paul:

That's right.

Logan:

... and really trying to stockpile, which is good because they're themselves trying to self-quarantine but it's going to be interesting to see how the markets react and how local businesses and business owners will wade through the waters during this time. 

Dan:

Absolutely

Paul:

So a couple of things we wanted to do, number one, we wanted to share some helpful resources, which certainly there are probably, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably a consumer of a lot of things online and you may already have some favorites, but we are at WordWrite in the business of working with reliable news organizations. So we'll share a few of our favorite go-to sources for local information here in western Pennsylvania.

Paul:

And then we're going to shift gears a bit and we're going to talk about our own experience because it's a crazy situation, but a lot of our clients rely on us for our crisis expertise. In any given year, we handle about 12 major crises, 10 of which you never read about because they're effectively handled. And then two of them, sadly, for whatever reason, the

Pittsburghers love a parade and a chance to party. That’s coming in spades (or maybe clovers?) with the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, one of the nation’s largest. We’ll being discussing the city’s Irish heritage and more in this episode. Also look out for:

• In an illuminating discussion with an executive in the retail industry, we’ll learn why we shouldn’t have the coffin ready just yet for brick-and-mortar stores – especially not at The Waterfront.

• We speak with the minds behind PECA Labs, who are changing the lives of children suffering from congenital heart defects. Now, they’re taking the next step.

This episode is sponsored by WordWrite:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

We’ve got an eclectic episode of the P100 Podcast lined up for you, to be sure:

— Mel Cronin, regional expansion manager at 412 Food Rescue, talks about the nonprofit’s mission of preventing perfectly good food from entering the waste stream and the growth into areas beyond the titular area code.

— James Gourlay, the Scottish conductor and musical director of the River City Brass band, shares some musical stories in a special edition of our Pittsburgh Polyphony series.

— We go down the tubes — you’ll have to listen to understand, and be sure to check out this unique website.

 

This episode is sponsored by WordWrite:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

This episode, we’re talking about people who are coming to Pittsburgh, whether it’s for work or just visiting.

We’ll break down a report that suggests the city might be a better fit for tech workers than the mecca of the digital economy, Silicon Valley (gotta love our standard of living). We’re also talking about a recent article that probes the need for a new hotel at the convention center. (Hint: The answer isn’t very simple.)

In between, we welcome the Breaking Brews Podcast’s host Jason Cercone for a chat about the business of beer and Pittsburgh’s place in the industry.

This episode is sponsored by WordWrite:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

Logan:

You are listening to the P100 podcast, the bi-weekly companion piece to the Pittsburgh 100, bringing you Pittsburgh news, culture, and more. Because sometimes 100 words just isn't enough for a great story. 

Logan:

Hello, and welcome to a brand new episode of the P100 podcast. You're here with myself, Logan Armstrong, and co-hosts Dan Stefano and Paul Furiga. Guys, how are you doing?

Paul:

Great, Logan.

Dan:

Emphasis on the co-host there. You're the host with the mostest there.

Logan:

I try to be. I do what I can, but-

Paul:

Yes he does and he does it well.

Logan:

I get my mostest from the people I'm surrounded with. On today's episode, we're going to be examining tech jobs in Pittsburgh, and there have been a few recent articles for some vying to leave and some vying to stay that you may have seen. So we're going to be talking about that and seeing how Pittsburgh ranks compared with cities and metros around the country in tech jobs.

Logan:

Then we're going to bring in our good friend Jason Cercone from the Breaking Brews podcast. He takes a drink from breaking, excuse me. He takes a break from drinking beer and talks about the business side of it.

Paul:

Wait a minute, that wasn't in this segment. There was no beer drinking?

Logan:

Unfortunately no.

Logan:

We asked him about it and he said that he'd be happy to rejoin us.

Dan:

Logan, let's remember we're talking to the CEO of our company within the office, so no. There's no-

Paul:

Well that's fine. Let's chat.

Dan:

We don't have a video of this, but if you could see the winking eye. No, there is no-

Logan:

No beer during this segment.

Dan:

Drinking during this segment.

Paul:

Of course not.

Logan:

Okay, and then finally we're going to wrap up with what's missing from downtown.

Paul:

Oh.

Logan:

Indeed, mysterious.

Paul:

Question.

Logan:

That's right. You'll have to stick around to see what we're talking about, but we're in for a great episode so we hope you stick around.

Dan:

I hope it's not my car or anything.

Paul:

Okay guys, time to do one of our favorite things on the podcast. Talk about Pittsburgh getting another great national ranking.

Dan:

Another list, right?

Paul:

We're on another list.

Dan:

Yeah.

Paul:

This one's a good one. Although, if you're in the Silicon Valley area, maybe not so good.

Dan:

Right.

Paul:

A couple of weeks ago, Wallet Hub, which is an online service provider that looks at financial things, very popular with millennials.

Dan:

They make many lists.

Paul:

They make many lists of many different things. Top places to live in the country for tech workers. Pittsburgh, number five. Silicon Valley, not so high, which caused the San Jose Mercury News, which San Jose's a community that's smack in the middle of Sili

Pittsburgh’s most famous magician, Lee Terbosic, visited the P100 Podcast for this episode, sharing stories from the road and close to home, the legacy of Harry Houdini and the success of the downtown theater Liberty Magic. Elsewhere in the episode:

— A look at why Super Bowl ads aren’t always worth the multimillion-dollar cost incurred by the brands who can afford it.

— We talk about the major investments being made in Oakland and what it means for one of Pittsburgh’s most vibrant neighborhoods.

— Our next Pittsburgh Polyphony features a look at the compilation album "Pittsburgh City Limits," from the production trio One800.

This episode is sponsored by WordWrite:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

Logan Armstrong:        

You are listening to The P100 Podcast, the biweekly companion piece to The Pittsburgh 100, bringing you Pittsburgh news, culture, and more because sometimes 100 words just isn't enough for a great story.

Paul Furiga:                  

Welcome back to another edition of The P100 Podcast, the audio companion to The Pittsburgh 100 e-zine. I'm Paul Furiga. I'm the Publisher of The Pittsburgh 100, and the CEO of WordWrite Communications, alongside Dan Stefano, our Editor of The Pittsburgh 100 and brand journalist at WordWrite. Hey, there, Dan.

Dan Stefano:                

That's quite an introduction there, Paul. I normally just rush straight through it.

Paul Furiga:                  

I don't think you should, Dan. So Dan, what have we got coming up in this amazing episode?

Dan Stefano:                

I would say it is amazing.

Paul Furiga:                  

It's magical, isn't it, Dan?

Dan Stefano:                

Well, it's an exciting week because we are just ahead of Super Bowl Sunday here, so we're going to open up things with a discussion about Super Bowl ads.

Paul Furiga:                  

Yes.

Dan Stefano:                

Yeah. We're going to talk about how they might not be worth the money. I know few things are worth $5.6 million, although I wouldn't mind having some in my pocket.

Paul Furiga:                  

Sure.

Dan Stefano:                

I probably wouldn't spend it on that, but yeah. After that we're going to have a great conversation. It'll be me and Logan Armstrong who's not here right now, but he'll be joining us for a talk with Lee Terbosic. You could say he's Pittsburgh's most famous magician, and he's got some great stories to talk about, just basically magic in the area, Liberty Magic, new theater. He even gets into a discussion about David Copperfield, the time he got to meet him and really cool stuff.

Paul Furiga:                  

Great.

Dan Stefano:                

Following that, we're going to discuss some big developments in Oakland, and Paul, you're really interested in that, right?

Paul Furiga:                  

I am indeed. Oakland is home to Pitt, and not only where Logan went to school but one of my daughters, and been following Oakland for the better part of 25 years, first when I was editor of The Business Times, and now here at WordWrite. Still a lot going on over there.

Dan Stefano:                

Well, this WVU grad doesn't really hold that against your daughter or Logan.

Paul Furiga:                  

Well, thanks, Dan.

Dan Stefano:                

But Logan, he will also be joining us again with the Pittsburgh Polyphony segment at the end of the show here and we've got

There was some Pittsburgh podcast synergy in the newest episode of the P100 Podcast, as we welcomed John Chamberlin and Rachael Rennebeck of the YaJagoff! Podcast. In a lively discussion, we talked about why Pittsburghers aren’t really rude, the many meanings of the term jagoff, and a special they group they support.

In our other segments:

We discuss the pain of seeing storefronts close — and why it’s not such a bad thing.

Executive coach Dick Singer joins us to talk about leadership in 2020.

We thank our winners of The Pittsburgh 100’s gift issue contest.

This episode is sponsored by WordWrite:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

For the first P100 Podcast of 2020 (or the last of 2019, depending on when you listen), we’re taking a broad look at Pittsburgh over the past 20 years – then glimpsing at the future.

We’ll talk about the ups and downs, the positive trends and the disappointments that need to be fixed to make Pittsburgh more livable for us all. Then we dive into a discussion on how the region might look very different by 2029.

And don’t miss our latest Pittsburgh Polyphony with Steve Soboslai of Punchline, the great punk band from Belle Vernon performing an anniversary show this week.

This episode is sponsored by WordWrite:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

Full Transcript

 

Logan:             

You are listening to the P100 podcast, the biweekly companion piece to the Pittsburgh 100, bringing you Pittsburgh news, culture and more, because sometimes 100 words just isn't enough for a great story.

Dan:     

Hey everybody, welcome back to the P100 podcast. I'm Dan Stefano, I'm here with Paul Furiga.

Paul:                

Hey, hey.

Dan:                

And Logan Armstrong.

Logan:             

How you doing, Dan?

Dan:                

Okay. Depending to whenever you're listening to this, it could either be the last day of the 2010s, or it could be really early in the 2020s here. It's an interesting time, we're splitting decades finally.

Logan:             

Or it could be 2027 when you're listening to this, we don't know.

Paul:                

Could be, we have a really good archiving service, don't we?

Dan:                

Could be an alien listening to this as a history and saying like, "What was wrong with them?" No, it is an interesting time and Paul, before we get started here, you brought up a fun fact about changing decades.

Paul:                 

Yes, I am sure that many of our listeners will doubt this until I explain it, but I can speak with authority as the oldest host on this podcast because I've lived in parts of eight decades, but I'm only 61 years old.

Dan:                

That's really impressive though, eight decades.

Paul:                

Eight decades. But see, I was born-

Dan:                

Two days into the new one, but-

Paul:                

That's right. I was born in 1958, and I got the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, the aughts, the teens, and now I'm into the twenties.

Dan:                

Pretty amazing. And myself I've lived in five. Well again, you know we're recording this I think before the 2020s begin, but I think I got a good chance of making it there. And Logan Armstrong, you as our youngest host, you still have lived in quite a few decades, so you're pretty long-

Logan:             

Yep. Repping four decades. Snuck into the 90s there for a few years. Yeah, I'm only 22 now, so it's kind of weird to think about.

Dan:                

That's impressive, a Clinton baby over there. All right, yeah it's fun to look at the calendar and think about these things. But the one thing we are going to do on today's episode is take a look back at where Pittsburgh has been, how it has changed within the 2010s and even the aughts that we talked about, and then we're going to talk about going forward here. What the 2020s might hold for Pittsburgh. Through it all there are ups and downs, and the city obviously has been on probably more ups than downs since we've gotten to 2000s. But there have been some really, some sad moments and there are a

When we go on about pizza and the weather, you might think it’s going to be a quiet episode of the P100 Podcast, but our guests this week have anything but small talk to offer.

• Nick Bogacz, founder of the award-winning Caliente Pizza & Draft House, has put Pittsburgh pizza on the global map, and he shares his story with us.

• Tom Baker, an Allegheny councilman whose work with nonprofits in the region is an inspiration, talks about setting goals.

• We examine whether the winter weather forecast’s a foregone conclusion.

• We’ve got a preview of The Pittsburgh 100’s exciting gift issue.

 

This episode is sponsored by WordWritePR:

Centuries before cellphones and social media, human connections were made around fires, as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts, minds and inspire action.

At WordWrite, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story – the reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented StoryCrafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S story.

Transcript:

 

Logan:             

You're listening to the P100 Podcast, the biweekly companion piece to The Pittsburgh 100. Bringing you Pittsburgh news, culture, and more, because sometimes 100 words just isn't enough for a great story.

Dan:                

Hey everybody welcome back to the P100 Podcast. I am your host, Dan Stefano. I'm here with Paul Furiga.

Paul:                

Hey there, Dan.

Dan:                

And Logan Armstrong.

Logan:             

Let’s get it started Dan.

Dan:                

Let’s get it started. Okay, well we got a fun episode for everybody today. For starters, we're going to talk a little bit about a special gift giveaway…

Paul:                

Yes.

Dan:                

... that we're going to be providing through…

Paul:                

Stay tuned for the special four letter word I have for you.

Dan:                

...through the P100 Podcast, and The Pittsburgh 100. Something special we're doing for the holidays here and we're really excited about. Following up after that we're going to be talking with Nick Bogacz of Caliente Pizza & Draft House, who is far more than just a pizza business owner, but they are definitely successful at that. So we'll be interested to learn more about the pizza business.

Paul:                

Yes. He wrote the book on that.

Dan:                

Absolutely, he did actually.

Logan:             

Literally.

Dan:                

Yeah, quite literally. Following that we're going to be talking with Tom Baker, who's an Allegheny County Councilman, but he does a lot more in the community.

Paul:                

So much more.

Dan:                

And we're going to be talking about goal setting, which is popular this time of year. A lot of people are thinking of new year's resolutions, but he goes a lot deeper into it. He's really got a lot of great insight into leadership.

Paul:                

Leadership, yeah.

Dan:                

And after that we're just going to chat about the weather.

Paul:                

I mean, because why not? We always chat about the weather.

Logan:             

We are in Pittsburgh.

Paul:                

We're in Pittsburgh.

Dan:                

Yeah and we're going to talk about the weather and that, but. We go a little bit deeper into that, and then somehow it devolves into a conversation about baseball. But yeah, everybody…

Paul:                

Stay with us, it makes sense.

Dan:                

Yeah. As Logan would say, buckle in, let's get it started, and thanks for being with us.

Paul:                

All right, listen up podcast fans. I have a four letter word for you.

Dan:                

Be careful.

Paul:                

It starts with F, but it ends with E. The word is, free.

Dan:

We’re past the “I can’t believe holiday decorations are already up” portion of the season. It’s time to celebrate the holidays, and Pittsburgh has two big events coming up that we’ll discuss in this week’s episode.

For starters, we talk with some representatives from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership about Comcast Light Up Night on Nov. 22. Then we bring in the race director of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s Turkey Trot.

After that, Paul and Dan take a deep dive into a potential change to the U.S. immigration system, and we close out with a special guest for our Pittsburgh Polyphony series.

 

----more----

This Episode is sponsored by WordWriteCenturies before cell phones and social media, human connections were made around fires as we shared the stories that shaped our world. Today, stories are still the most powerful way to move hearts and minds and inspire action. At WordWrite, Pittsburgh's largest independent public relations agency, we understand that before you had a brand, before you sold any product or service, you had a story.

WordWrite helps clients to uncover their own Capital S Story. The reason someone would want to buy, work, invest or partner with you through our patented story-crafting process. Visit wordwritepr.com to uncover your Capital S Story.

Here's the full transcript for this episode:

Speaker 1: You're listening to the P100 podcasts, the biweekly companion piece to The Pittsburgh 100 bringing you Pittsburgh news, culture, and more because sometimes 100 words just isn't enough for a great story.

Dan: Hi everybody. Welcome back to the P100 podcast. I'm your host Dan Stefano with my cohost here, Logan Armstrong. Our other co-host Paul Furiga will be joining us shortly.

Logan: Ho ho, ho. Dan.

Dan: I can't believe you just said that.

Dan: Well, the ho, ho, ho, and all of the holiday celebration nonsense here fits in with our first couple of segments that we're going to have today. We're going to be discussing Light Up Night with a couple of people from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. They're the group that puts on the event every year and does such an awesome job, and then following that, we're going to have another discussion with another big holiday event. Logan.

Logan: Yeah. We're going to be talking about the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh's Turkey Trot Race, one of the biggest races in the city. We're going to be sitting down with Catlyn Brooke, race director, and she's going to give us a lowdown on that.

Dan: It's an important race too because it goes to a very... The funds from it go to a very big cause and a lot of important donations there. So following that, we're going to take a left turn there and go into a deeper dive into a recent story we had on immigration, and we have an attorney from a local Pittsburgh law firm here to discuss that. And it's a really interesting talk that affects not only people in our region but nationally. We're excited to have him in for that.

Dan: Following that Logan, we've got a special Pittsburgh polyphony. It's not just us talking about an artist here. We have somebody pretty interesting coming in.

Logan: Yeah, that's right, Dan. We're going to have Connor Murray here, a label manager of Crafted Sounds, a local Pittsburgh record label that's doing a lot of cool things in the region. And one of the coolest, he's trying to bring back cassette tapes.

Dan: Cassette tapes. That's great. Yeah, I think there might be some at my mom's house here I could dig up. I don't know. We'll have to find out, but all right everybody, let's get to it.

Dan: All right everybody, we're happy to have two members of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership here with us. We have Colten Gill, manager of marketing communications and Roya Kousari, another member of the marketing team there. Thanks for being with us.

Roya: Thank you for having us.

Colten: Thank you guys.

Dan: Guys, it's a busy time of year for you here and can you tell us why that is?

Colten: Yeah, for sure. So co