This week on the P100 Podcast, of course, we had to address the sinkhole that shook Pittsburgh (and fueled a day’s worth of memes). We dig deep to learn how sinkholes form and consider ourselves grateful to be above ground (it was only a few blocks away from us). Elsewhere in the episode:

Alexandra Loutsion, a soprano singing the lead role in Pittsburgh Opera’s “Florencia en el Amazonas,” stops by.

Priya Amin of Flexable discusses her childcare solution for working parents and gives a preview of an upcoming webinar.

A Veterans Day tribute to those who served.

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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 from this episode.

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.

Paul: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another episode of the P100 Podcast, the audio companion to the Pittsburgh 100. I'm Paul Furiga, here along with my colleagues, Dan Stefano and Logan Armstrong.

Dan: Hey Paul.

Logan: How you doing?

Paul: Guys, we have a great episode today. We're talking about big black holes.

Dan: Everybody's seen the hole now, but yes.

Paul: Yes, we are. Singing a little bit, accurate gentlemen, Pittsburgh Opera.

Dan: That's true. Yeah. We're not singing, fortunately, but there is singing in this episode.

Paul: We have a great guest on, who's going to talk about a really cool initiative called Flexable.

Dan: Yeah, it's a company that is involved in instant onsite childcare and it's an issue that affects a lot of working parents and I think you want to hang on for that interview. It's definitely interesting.

Paul: And we're going to be talking about Veterans Day.

Dan: Absolutely.

Logan: Finish it off strong.

Paul: That's right.

Dan: Yeah. That's the way we love Veterans Day, actually, it's a great holiday.

Logan: It's also (beep) birthday.

Dan: Hey, that's supposed to be ... That's spoiler alert there, we don't want to talk about that.

Paul: Is that how that wound up in this episode?

Dan: I know. I can't do another little ... Maybe the last five minutes is just a celebration of (beep), or maybe it isn't. I don't know. We all have to hang on.

Paul: I don't think so, folks.

Dan: No.

Paul: Stay tuned.

Paul: All right, now we want to talk about holes, sometimes black holes, sometimes big holes, sometimes big holes, small holes.

Dan: Sometimes famous holes.

Paul: Sometimes famous holes. All of them, sinkholes.

Dan: I feel like I've seen that in the news lately. I don't know.

Paul: Yeah, something about a bus downtown, Dan, going into a hole somewhere.

Dan: Bus, Dan, in the sinkhole.

Paul: Dan, means the up streets [crosstalk 00:02:12].

Dan: Well, you got to work on your [inaudible 00:02:15] accent, but you're getting-

Paul: I don't think so.

Dan: Yeah.

Logan: The Cleveland is showing.

Dan: Yes, exactly.

Paul: All right, so, holes. I have a word for you gentlemen. You ready?

Dan: Got you.

Paul: This is not a Pittsburgh ethnic food, although it sounds like one. Karst. K-A-R-S-T.

Dan: Yeah. I need a definition.

Paul: All right. Karst, occurs in bedrock, that’s primarily limestone and it's like an underground cave system that water rushes through. The most common form of sinkholes is caused by karst. We don't really know yet whic

As Pittsburgh prepares to mark one year since the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue, we invited Maggie Feinstein of the 10.27 Healing Partnership to discuss the new center’s mission and how Squirrel Hill has healed over time.

Also in this episode, we talk about fear-based marketing, future modes of journalism with a guest who has a special connection to the podcast, and hear a track from a promising singer from Sewickley.

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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.

The full transcript to this episode is here:

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, everyone. We're back. I'm Dan Stefano, host of The P100 Podcast. I'm here with Paul Furiga.

Paul: Dan, how are you, my friend?

Dan: And our other co-host, Logan Armstrong.

Logan: How's it going, Dan?

Dan: All right. Yeah, great to have you guys here, and we're happy for everybody to be listening today because it's a special episode. We're coming up to the one-year commemoration of the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in our Squirrel Hill neighborhood here. And there's a lot of interesting things going on this time of year. It's been a year of healing, and that's a highlight of the interview we're going to have this week. We're pretty happy to have that. Paul, what are your thoughts?

Paul: I'm really looking forward to hearing from Maggie Feinstein, who's now leading the healing center. As you said, this one-year mark is really important for the community. Not just here in Pittsburgh, but beyond as well.

Dan: That's right. That's Maggie Feinstein, the director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership and we're really happy to have her today. Also, we'll be talking with Erin Hogan. She's a fellow WordWriter and we'll be talking about fear-based PSA. It's kind of based on a blog she recently wrote. After that, we'll hear from Chris Schroder, the founder of The 100 Companies.

Paul: The 100 Companies, right.

Dan: Paul, you've met him. You have a pretty deep professional relationship.

Paul: We do. And I think folks will enjoy the interview, three ex-journalists sitting around the table commiserating about journalism's past and talking about the future.

Dan: Right? Yeah. That's always a lot of fun. And then we'll follow up with a Pittsburgh polyphony and Logan, you have somebody pretty exciting we're going to be talking to, correct?

Logan: Yes, I do. We're going to be talking about a young neo soul artist coming out of the city. So I'm excited to talk about that.

Dan: Right, yeah we're going to be really happy to hear from, well, we're not going to hear from her I guess, but we'll hear from her in her recording from one of her singles and we're really happy to hear that, and let's get to it.

Dan: Okay, everybody. As we mentioned in the introduction, we are nearing the one year mark of the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue. With us is Maggie Feinstein. She's the director of the newly named 10.27 Healing Partnership. 10.27 that being a reference to the date of the attack in which 11 worshipers were killed on a Saturday morning going to synagogue. It was an act of hate, but our city has responded with a lot of acts of love, including programs like this. So thank you fo

In this episode of the P100 Podcast, our hosts Paul, Dan and Logan welcome Nicole Chynoweth from the Carnegie Science Center to discuss the center’s new exhibit on mummies. From there we move on to the science of fear, and then on to hockey with their guest, Jeremy Church. This episode wraps up with a review of some unique Pennsylvania town names. We bet you have your favorites.

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Full transcript here:

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 aren't enough for a great story.

Dan: Hi everyone. Welcome back to the P100 Podcast, we're happy to have you back for another episode. I am Dan Stefano, I'm here with Logan Armstrong. Logan.

Logan: How's it going?

Dan: A pleasure to have you with us and Paul Furiga will be joining us in a little bit. Today's episode we're going to be talking about mummies. Not your mothers, not like that Logan. I see you, that's what you're thinking. No, just having a pleasant thought, thinking about dear old mom. No, Okay.

Dan: Now, we're actually going to be talking about the mummies that you might think of whenever you think of ancient Egypt and other parts of the world here. There's a new exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center - Mummies of the World, and we're really excited to talk with someone from the Science Center about that.

Dan: Afterward, we're going to be discussing the science of fear. Keeping with us, somewhat of a Halloween type of theme here. Then, we're going to be talking about, what everybody knows, it's the beginning of hockey season. Logan, you excited about that?

Logan: No. 

Dan: No. You're not excited about hockey. Okay. Well, I am and some other people in the office, and we're going to be talking with one of them about the growth of youth hockey in the region, which is really something that's taken off in the past few couple of decades here in Pittsburgh. And we're going to finish up with Logan and I being just as serious we are now. We're going to talk about strange Pennsylvania town names. So if you make it to the end, you're going to be in for treat on that one.

Logan: Oh yeah. Stay tuned.

Dan: Okay, so let's get going. All right guys, for this segment we're going to talk about mummies. In particular, mummies of the world, the exhibition. It's a new exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center and from the Science Center, we have Nicole Chynoweth. Nicole, thanks for being here.

Nicole: Thank you for having me.

Dan: Absolutely. Thanks for being with us here. And can we talk a little bit about your own role within the Science Center here. Can you tell us your position and a little bit what you do?

Nicole: Sure. So, I'm the manager of marketing, public relations, and social media with a focus on exhibits and the Rangos Giants Cinema.

Dan: Great. What does that entail then? I mean, that I imagine you you are working with a lot of different positions there. Right?

Nicole: Yeah, it's a really fun job. I get my hands in everything from new movies that we have coming out at the Rangos, educational films to the exciting new exhibits that we're bringing to the science center, from space topics, planetarium related things, and mummies-

Dan: Really cool, it seems like a fun place to work. Right?

Paul: Nicole, you've had your hands in the mummies?

Nicole: No.

Paul: Okay. The promotion of the mummies.

Dan: The promotion of the mummies. 

Paul: I'm sure we'll talk about some of the technical aspects, but that would seem a little gross, but...

Nicole: I don't think so. I find the exhibition more fascinating than I do creepy. And I'm not a fan of scary movies or I did not watch the Brendan Fraser mummy movie.

Paul: You didn't?

Nicole: No interest in that.

Paul: I did watch those.

Dan: You're missing out on a classic from the 1990s.

Paul: Yeah. Well, classic is a little strong-

Dan: I think it should have won an Oscar, but that's just me.

Paul:

Welcome to another episode of the P100 Podcast. Today we cover our own Port Authority. Robin Rectenwald shares with us some local getaways inside tips. Director, Dawn Keezer from the Pittsburgh Film Office talks about on location in Pittsburgh. This episode winds up with Pittsburgh Polyphony spotlight - Flower Crown.

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 is the full transcript from this episode:

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 aren't enough for a great story.

Dan: All right. Welcome back to another episode of The P100 Podcast. I'm Dan Stefano. I'm here with Logan Armstrong.

Logan: Good to see you again, Dan.

Dan: And Paul Furiga, who'll be joining us just momentarily.

Dan: Today's episode, we've got four segments for you. First, we're going to be discussing public transportation in both Pittsburgh and other American cities. We're going to talk with Dawn Keezer of the Pittsburgh Film Office, which will be a lot of fun. It was a really good chat with her. We're going to discuss quick getaways you can take outside of Pittsburgh. Sometimes you got to get away, and we'll be talking with Robin Rectenwald of WordWrite for that one, and then we'll finish it up with talking about a good local Pittsburgh band for our Pittsburgh polyphony series. Excited to hear that, so let's get to it.

PORT AUTHORITY

Paul: All right guys. Let's talk planes, trains, and autonomous automobiles. A little shout out there to the old John Candy movie.

Dan: That's a classic movie.

Paul: It is a classic movie.

Dan: Steve Martin too, right?

Paul: Steve Martin, that's right. Yes indeed.

Logan:Much before my time.

Paul:Oh, you got to see that movie.

Dan: Logan, you weren't even alive.

Paul: You weren't alive, but you can stream it.

Dan: Is it John Hughes?

Paul: Yes. I think it's a John Hughes film actually, one of the-

Dan: Okay. See, I know my movie stuff.

Paul: ... few he did in that era when it wasn't all about teen angst. But speaking of teen angst and public transportation, it seems like a perennial topic in the news in Pittsburgh, is how to get from point A to point B. And I just don't mean the topography. For instance, if you drew my street on a map, it would look like a lasso, you know the old cowboy thing?

Dan: Sure.

Paul: You can get onto Courtney Place, the street I live on, and turn left on Courtney Place and go around a circle and turn left, and you're still on Courtney Place. That's another issue. What we're talking about today is, maybe because of things like that, how difficult it is to get from point A to point B. And the importance of public transportation.

Paul: And so, recently Dan, Logan, we were looking at the news about the Port Authority starting or considering some 24-hour transit routes. And Logan, I know you're an Oakland denizen, some of those routes would head out that way, that we'd start with you. Thoughts?

Logan: Yeah, I'd be a big fan of that. I know that they're only considering really the heavier routes, which obviously make sense. You don't want to have empty buses going all night, but I think that would be really helpful.

Logan: I know there have been a few times where, whether I'm in Oakland or elsewhere past midnight or so, I mean, it gets pr

For this episode of the P100 Podcast, we have a full house! Joining our regular hosts Logan, Dan and Paul are The Incline Director and author, Rossilynne Culgan who has just published the book 100 Things to do in Pittsburgh Before You Die. WordWriter Hollie Geitner stops by to review a new list of top hated business jargon buzzwords. Let's see how many you use regularly. Stick around to the end, as Dan and Logan discuss . . . aliens.

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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.

Enjoy the full transcript from this episode below:

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

Dan Stefano: Hello everyone. It's Dan Stefano, back with another episode of the P100 podcast. I'm alongside my co-hosts here, Logan Armstrong and Paul. Good to see you guys yet again.

Logan Armstrong: Yeah, good to be here.

Paul Furiga: Thanks, Dan. Really looking forward to this episode. Let's get to it guys.

Dan Stefano: Yeah, we got a lot of interesting topics here for you today. We're going to talk a little bit about why it's great to see Pittsburgh on some of these "best of" lists, but some of the reasons behind why you know they —

Logan Armstrong: Might not continue forever.

Dan Stefano: Exactly. We're also going to talk with Rossilynne Culgan, she's director of The Incline and the author of the second edition of 100 Things To Do In Pittsburgh Before You Die. Lovely title. We're also going to be talking with Hollie Geitner of WordWrite. We're going to discuss business jargon that we hate. And there's some of that stuff that we hate, we actually use so that'll be fun. And then we're going to end it with a conversation about aliens and I'll just leave it right there.

Paul Furiga: All right, so one of the other things you want to talk about in today's episode is what a great place Pittsburgh is: Check out all the rankings, and what the future looks like. A couple of years ago, the Allegheny conference did a report on the population trends in the Pittsburgh region. It's a report called Inflection Point. It's on the Allegheny Conference website if you want to check out all the details. Very interesting.

Paul Furiga: So here's Pittsburgh today, Dan and Logan. It's a place that's really great for millennials and Gen Z. It's like little Brooklyn, lots of guys with man buns, and curated pickle shops, and really hot restaurants, and that's all really great and cool. Oh, we got autonomous cars driving around on the streets and we love it, right? This is all really, really good stuff. What's interesting to me is how did that happen? And a part of the way that happened is because of the collapse of the steel industry. Essentially an entire generation of people left Pittsburgh.

Paul Furiga: You know, I always love it when the national sportscasters say, Oh, those Steelers fans, they travel really well.

Dan Stefano: They're not traveling. They just live there.

Paul Furiga: Exactly. Dan, they're not traveling. Those Steeler fans are in Houston because in the 1980s, their entire family lost their jobs and they moved to Houston.

Dan Stefano: Right.

Paul Furiga: So, you know, that is what it is. How it matters, in terms of what's happening today, is that that gener

This is our inaugural episode of the P100 Podcast, featuring hosts Paul Furiga, Dan Stefano and Logan Armstrong of WordWrite Communications. Here's a bit about how the show will work.

As with The Pittsburgh 100, the P100 Podcast will be coming to you 25 times a year, the same week the newsletter hits inboxes. What can you expect? Every episode will have a quartet of roughly five-minute segments featuring not just the three guys in the room, but great guests, insightful segments looking at the region’s news, history and culture, and a deeper dive into stories from the newsletter. 

This episode covers the events and history around Labor Day weekend, including Pittsburgh’s ties to the holiday, another fantastic food festival to look forward to and, of course, the start of football season. We wrap it up with a discussion of the region’s surprisingly long musical history, including a look at a local who might have a big future on the scene: Pick Patek, a hip-hop artist with a big following over Spotify. He was also featured in a recent Pittsburgh Polyphony article.

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Enjoy listening to this episode of the P100 Podcast, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Special thanks to the folks at the Pittsburgh Technology Council for the use of their studio.

And this episode’s sponsor WordWrite Communications:

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 from you, work with you, invest in you or partner with you. Through our patented Storycrafting process, we’ll help you discover your own Capital S Story. Visit us at WordWritepr.com to learn more.

Full episode transcript here:

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 everyone to the inaugural episode of the P100 podcast, the audio version of the Pittsburgh 100. My name is Paul Furiga. I'm Publisher of the Pittsburgh 100 and President and Chief Storyteller of WordWrite. I'd like to introduce my colleague, Dan Stefano. Dan.

Dan Stefano:

Thanks for the introduction, Paul. My name's Dan Stefano. I am the Editor of the Pittsburgh 100 and the Brand Journalist at WordWrite. Spent some time in the media before this, before I got to WordWrite and happy to be here right now.

Paul Furiga:

Glad you're here, Dan. We also have a third member of the crew here today, the three Musketeers, and that is Logan Armstrong. Logan.

Logan Armstrong:

Hi guys. My name is Logan Armstrong. I'm a Staff Writer for the Pittsburgh 100 and also an Account Coordinator for WordWrite. A recent graduate from Pitt, so hoping to bring a 21st-century millennial, Gen Z perspective for everybody.

Dan Stefano:

Yes. Logan is at the low end of the millennial spectrum. You know you're pushing, I think gen Z there.

Paul Furiga:

I think he actually is Gen Z.

Logan Armstrong:

I'm '97 so ...

Paul Furiga:

Now, if that's the case, I'm pushing Gen A. I don't know what I'm pushing as a baby boomer. Whatever it is, I'm the opposite of.

Dan Stefano:

I think Henry Ford called it the Model T generation or something.

Paul Furiga:

Thank you, Dan. I appreciate that.

Dan Stefano:

You're firmly a Boomer.

Paul Furiga:

Well, as you can see folks, we don't like each other. We don't get along well. We don't have fun together. Actually we do. We're glad you've joined us for this first episode of the P100 podcast. Let me just tell you a little bit about how this podcast is going to work. As with the Pittsburgh 100, the P100 podcast will be coming to you 25 times a year. We'll be coming out during the same week that the Pittsburgh 100 comes out. What can you expect from the podcast? Every episode, fou