The Confluence

On today's program: Point Park University celebrates black dancers; Gov. Wolf’s ambitious carbon goals don’t really square up with pushing for a boom in petrochemicals; agriculture is a major industry in Pennsylvania, but it faces serious challenges; and Airbnb is changing the hospitality game in Pittsburgh.

Life is busy, and it can be hard to keep up with the news. That’s why 90.5 WESA is launching a new podcast called Pittsburgh Explainer. Every Friday morning, we’ll bring you the biggest news stories of the week in 20 minutes. Hosted by WESA editor Liz Reid, you’ll hear from the reporters who cover politics, education, tech, health, arts and more, and get the real stories behind the headlines. It’s the news you need, in the time you have. Pittsburgh Explainer launches Feb. 7.

On today's program: What UPMC wants from its $1 billion life sciences investment; why small dams are a problem in the Ohio watershed; opening arguments begin in the Wilkinsburg mass shooting trial; and new data details jobs lost to the U.S.-China trade deficit.

On today's program: Paid family leave in PA gets a committee hearing; county leaders weigh in on a decade of questionable air quality; UPMC may leverage investments in drugmakers into a whole new company; a mentorship program exposes kids to real-life careers; and PWSA is taking a state loan to upgrade its infrastructure.

On today's program: The medical community is amending its thoughts on when and how new moms should be cared for; Doors Open Pittsburgh explores the city’s African American history; an expanding program teaches locals how to care for their environment.

On today's program: FBI Pittsburgh hopes to apply the cyber security lessons of 2016 to 2020; the U.S. Census Bureau needs many more numerators ahead of this year’s count; a Point Park initiative goes beyond basic survival needs for the city’s homeless; and Philadelphia honors native son Kobe Bryant after the basketball star’s tragic death.

On today's program: GOP leadership is changing in Harrisburg; some U.S. waterways might lose federal protection; a new report reveals companies did not report hospitalizations of those with intellectual disabilities; and Pitt’s Department of Africana Studies celebrates 50 years.

On today's program: A White House correspondent shares tales from the road; what we’ve learned from five years of local coal mining data; a sportsbook expert estimates just how involved Pennsylvanians will be ahead of Super Bowl LIV; and how Pittsburgh plans to celebrate the Chinese New Year as the threat of disease plagues provinces abroad.

On today's program: Efforts to crack down on sexual harassment in state government have stalled; a local incubator is supporting Hispanic businesses; student reporters investigate barriers to unionization at Pitt; rural hospitals are at risk of closing; and with the rules finalized, the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is set to begin.

On today's program: Students share how poetry gives voice to their experiences; PA voters get introspective about their media diets; what it takes to cut energy use in state-owned buildings; and a new memoir explores the taboo subject of abuse in queer relationships.