The Confluence

On today’s special episode of The Confluence: We bring together a roundtable of Pennsylvania political reporters a month before election day to discuss the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate campaigns, as well as other consequential races. Today’s guests include: Chris Potter, WESA’s government and accountability editor; Stephen Caruso, capitol reporter at Spotlight PA; Katie Meyer, government editor and reporter at Spotlight PA: and Jonathan Tamari, national political reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Proposed legislation in Harrisburg could help ill patients better access treatments by modifying and modernizing the prior authorization process, but the legislature has to approve it in its remaining session days; a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigation finds much of Art Rooney Sr.’s early wealth came from his role in the city’s rackets, according to FBI and other archival documents; and a judge has ruled Pittsburgh can remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from Schenley Park. Today’s guests include: Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R., York); Sean Hamill, reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Bill O’Driscoll, WESA’s arts and culture reporter.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A new, low-barrier homeless shelter is opening in Downtown Pittsburgh and will offer social services to unhoused people; according to the state Department of Corrections, there are more than 39,000 inmates in residential facilities, and we discuss the impacts on children of incarcerated parents; and a look at U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman’s track record of addressing crime in Braddock.Today’s guests include: Tony Beltran, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Mercy, and Dr. Anita Leon-Jhong, medical director for the health clinic at Second Avenue Commons; and Anna Hollis, executive director of Amachi Pittsburgh.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A Commonwealth Court judge ruled its legal for counties to let voters fix small errors on their mail-in ballots, a practice known as “ballot curing”; the time between August and November is known as the “Red Zone,” when more than half of college campus sexual assaults will take place, we discuss what’s being done to address these incidents; and students at Community College of Allegheny County have the chance to send an experiment to space. Today’s guests include: Sam Dunklau, WESA’s capitol bureau chief; Mila Sanina, freelance journalist and assistant teaching professor at Penn State Bellisario College, and Emma Folts, higher education reporter for PublicSource; and Justin Starr, CCAC Endowed Professor of Advanced Technologies and coordinator for the college’s participation in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.

On today's show: As we enter the home stretch before the November election, we explain how you can identify misinformation and disinformation, even when it might look like a reputable source; the U.S. Supreme Court term begins today, and following the contentious Roe v. Wade ruling last term, we discuss what to expect this fall; and 50 years ago, how a group of working-class Black men in Pittsburgh transformed emergency care.Today’s guests include: Kathleen Carley, computational social scientist and professor at Carnegie Mellon University, director of CMU’s Center for Informed Democracy and Social Cybersecurity, and director of the Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems; and David Harris, professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law and WESA legal analyst.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Allegheny County announced a pilot program to offer low-income residents reduced fares to ride Pittsburgh Regional Transit; Republican state lawmakers introduced what they are calling a "parental bill of rights," which legislators in support say give parents more say in what content is taught in schools; and as pawpaw season comes to a close, we learn about how to forage this native fruit.Today’s guests include: Laura Chu Wiens, executive director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit; Justin Sweitzer, senior reporter for City & State PA; and Ryan Utz, professor of environmental science at Chatham University.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The board of the Pittsburgh Public Schools is scheduled to vote tonight to revise the district's sex education policy to be more inclusive and remove the emphasis on abstinence-only education; the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets has received a $2.4 million grant to study how society can overcome differences; and a conversation about independent state legislature doctrine. Today’s guests include: Sarah Schneider, WESA education reporter; and Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets and a professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The U.S. Department of Energy is considering Pittsburgh for a lab to research removing carbon dioxide from the air; and it’s been 20 years since the firings of two head coaches that inspired the Rooney Rule, meant to diversify leadership among National Football League teams — we discuss where the league stands today. Today’s guests include: Anya Litvak, energy reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American University, specializing in sports law and employment discrimination, and Jim Rooney, son of former Steelers owner Dan Rooney and author of “A Different Way to Win”.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: U.S. House Republican leaders unveiled their "Commitment to America" platform in western Pennsylvania last week, ahead of the November election; Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ Child Protective Services 2021 Annual Report found there was an increase of reports of child abuse, but the department anticipated the uptick after a decline of reports in 2020 attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic; and we speak to a co-founder of an organization helping women and trans people reenter society after incarceration.Today’s guests include: Chris Potter, WESA’s government and accountability editor; Richard DiBello, senior forensic interviewer with the Child Advocacy Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital; and etta cetera, co-founder of Let’s Get Free.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: State lawmakers are considering companion bills in the House and Senate that would establish a statewide rape-kit tracking system; a coalition of organizations representing Asian American and Pacific Islanders have put forth an AAPI policy platform for the state; and a conversation about why it’s so hard to identify who is lacking broadband access in the state. Today’s guests include: Donna Greco, policy director with Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; Lani Mears, president of the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh; and Sascha Meinrath, Palmer Chair in the Telecommunications Department at Pennsylvania State University and director of X-Lab at Penn State.