From the Source

Yvetter Harrison discoves how a passion for kickball can driving positive change in Wilkinsburg and inspire others to reinvest in their neighborhood.

Relive the voices of the future in the season finale of From the Source! Our Pittsburgh-area teen co-hosts have shared their perspectives on mental health, activism, immigration and more with humor and bravery throughout the season. With their unique and honest perspectives, our teen guests have left us with hope for the next generation. Tune in to the final episode of From the Source's first season to hear the teens speak their truth.

In this episode, we dive into the intersection of news and technology and how it's shaping the awareness of teen culture. The minds behind this episode: young people who attended a journalism workshop co-hosted by PublicSource and Saturday Light Brigade Radio's Youth Media Center in the North Side. From news access to reliability, we explore the impact of technology on news and the types of stories that become news.  Tune in to hear from the next generation of journalists and critical thinkers on their perspectives of the role of media in society.

In a candid conversation, high school freshman Jazmiere Bates opens up about her experiences as an entrepreneur and the challenges she's had to overcome to establish her brand. She shares her journey, including the inspiration and dedication that goes into building a successful business, and the importance of staying encouraged despite facing insecurity and doubts from others.

This week, McKeesport native Brandi Cox discusses her observations of what happens in a community when teen gun violence becomes the norm. Listen to what she is prepared to change in her school and city to save kids' lives. 

In this conversation, Reach Cyber Charter School sophomore Ja'Nya Coleman discusses how she views the paths to career success outside of attending college post-graduation, and how virtual learning, mentors and bad TV shows helped her realize her passion for storytelling and find a creative community.

In this episode of From the Source, Ambyr Clay discusses her experiences as a preteen coming of age in the era of police misconduct and protests captured on cell phone video and distributed widely on social media. Ambyr shares her observations on what her peers think about policing and the opportunity she sees for teens and police to have relationships that are beneficial to the community. 

In this episode, five Pittsburgh high school students from Girl Scout Troop 55286 discuss the uncomfortable truths about climate change and environmental justice activism for teens — and how their peers and parents can help raise awareness.

We're taking a break to observe the holiday season, so there won't be a new episode this week. We're back Wednesday, January 4th Next time on From The Source, scouts from troop 55286 share how they became teen climate activists, and why more teens aren't engaged with environmental justice issues. "We are the most affected by it, but we have the least say in it. We are not able to go into Congress and make laws. We are not able to vote, most of us. We're not able to put solar panels on our roofs. We are only able to have conversations and educate ourselves, and I feel like as we get older it's our responsibility to educate younger people." Teens fighting for a livable planet, next time on From The Source. Happy holidays, happy new year, stay safe, be well.

For some young people, an intercultural exchange is rare and there is little consideration of why they are who they are. But for teens who immigrated or whose immediate family immigrated, it can be a major cornerstone of their experience and identity. This week, we speak with Pittsburgh Allderdice High School senior Sam Alawadhi on the challenge and gifts of having intersecting identities — as a Yemeni and an American — and what he thinks about his peers' understanding of the concept of culture.

In this conversation with Pittsburgh Allderdice senior Amaya Dorman, she discusses her observations of lifestyle content on social media; its effects on teens' aspirations and values; and the challenges she faces to maintain her individuality.

Boys and girls, the birds and the bees, the double standards. In this conversation with Woodland Hills High School senior Tierra Bush, she discusses how she has viewed the differences of how boys and girls are groomed to behave and what that means within the larger context of sex, sexuality and sexual safety. Bush shares about the challenges of coming of age as a woman and the advice she has for parents and teens when discussing sexual safety.

A sustainable future and the health and wellness of teens are inextricably linked. Since the pandemic, there's been an increase in high school students feeling persistently sad or hopeless and a shortage in pediatric mental health providers. In this episode, Cayah Leavy, a high school freshman, walks us through her experiences with mental health, balancing the  stressors of her teenage life, and her advice to adults who want to connect with teens.

Young people have not been shielded from the spike of gun violence in the Pittsburgh area. They have been innocent bystanders, victims and the ones holding the guns. What's at the root of this violence among teenagers and how is it affecting them?  Jourdan Hicks, host of the From the Source podcast by PublicSource, speaks with two high school freshmen who are also youth ambassadors focused on bringing more understanding to discussions about youth violence and what can be done to stop its cycle.

PublicSource explores telehealth access through a parity lens for mental and physical health needs.

In the third season of From the Source, we focused on the Pittsburgh barrier-breakers and their personal reflections on challenges, growth and achievement. We asked each and every one of them a question that yielded answers as diverse as their experiences: What do you know for sure? Listen back to all of their unique responses gathered here in this trip back into our season 3 episodes.

Michael Carroll is a social media marketer, producer and artist manager. In this episode of From the Source, Michael deconstructs popular media marketing tactics and how they add to the complexities of raising his teenage daughter. Can Michael protect her from what he's creating? Listen to how Michael attempts to achieve work-life balance.

Mark Williams is the songwriter, artist and creator of the show, “Hello, Humans!” In this episode of From the Source, Mark talks about the steps he's taking to inspire kids to be mindful  and how families can build mindful practices like meditation into their daily lives. 

Meet Ginny Nemchick. She's an operations manager at a business incubator in East Liberty. In this episode of From the Source, Ginny talks about her work in the nonprofit space and how growing up the responsible sibling ties into the work values she stands by today.    

Meet Damian Addison, father, boxer and personal trainer. In this episode of From the Source, Damian talks about developing positive mental agility, the relationship between confidence and fitness, and what he knows to be true about transforming your life.

Meet Lena Chen, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University as well as an artist and performer. In this episode of From the Source, Lena talks about breaking into the sex-pleasure industry; the relationship between intimacy, gender, and technology; and  what needs to be updated in how society thinks about what is “real work.”

In this episode of From the Source, you'll meet Nick Ripley, who works in the North Side at the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation's free legal aid clinic, which serves the LGBTQ+ community. Listen to what Nick has to say about how the legal system gaslights people with marginalized identities and what they know for sure about human rights, advocacy and service. 

She'Cholle Winmon works in additive manufacturing at  RE2 Robotics in Lawrenceville. From firsthand experience, She'Cholle shares how she successfully navigates the workforce development pipeline in Pittsburgh and what she knows for sure about changing careers.

In this episode of From the Source, you'll meet Priya Amin, co-creator of the child care company Flexable. Priya talks about where the idea for Flexable came from and why it was so needed, the decision to close the company and what she knows for sure about the possibilities for innovation and child care in the future.

Introducing Terry Gibson: Ten years ago, religion and family pushed this Florida native to break ground in a new city he'd never visited. Listen to his description of Pittsburgh's “unfiltered'' religious identity, takeaways from his time here and his wishes for the city's future.

In this episode of From the Source, we discuss the challenges Ehrrin Keenan is facing and has faced in reaching her goal of graduating college — again. As an adult learner, she shares her experience navigating systems, self-esteem and assignments.

Has someone ever said something to you that just stunk? It was biased, close-minded, perhaps straight-up hateful. Where did you dump the feelings associated with it? Karen Zellars reflects on her formative years in Pittsburgh, where there is a continuing legacy of misrepresentation and mistreatment of Black Pittsburghers like herself. Karen challenged what the outside world was telling her she was capable of to find her place in the workforce and community. 

In the second season of From the Source, we focused on quality-of-life issues.  What do you need to live well? How much?  And at what cost? Before we sign off and come back for Season 3 in the fall, here's a recap of some of the Pittsburghers you met and the stories they brought to life this season.

What information do you need to have in place for you to transition to the end of your life on your terms? Support and palliative care social worker Tanisha Bowman walks us through how to prepare and empower your loved ones to carry out your final wishes and how bias makes the situation even more difficult.  

Should we talk about loss more? Does it make a difference if it's a loss of an elderly parent or an infant? Pittsburgh bereavement doula Heather Bradley helps parents through infant loss and thinks everyone could stand to benefit from talking about end-of-life issues more openly.

Land banks, inclusionary zoning policies and community land trusts are all a part of the toolkit that cities like Pittsburgh and community leaders are using to ensure that neighborhoods maintain affordability and can benefit from development. Hear from two Pittsburgh affordable housing advocates on the historical and social through lines Pittsburgh needs to discuss affordable housing better. 

When an employee says their relationship with their boss resembles that of a close brother or sister, you must be doing something right. Listen and learn how employers exercising generosity in the workplace can change the way we see and do work together.

Meet Morgan Ottley as she unpacks the lessons and challenges of remotely completing her senior year at the University of Pittsburgh following 2020’s summer of racial reckoning and protests. Morgan discusses the emotional, often invisible labor left to students when universities fall short of solidarity and the future of racial justice and accountability on college campuses.  For more insights on the effects of the racial justice movement on higher ed from students, faculty, staff and administrations of Pittsburgh-area universities, check out the accompanying stories to this podcast by PublicSource higher education reporter Naomi Harris.

Meet Ali R. Abdullah as he explains the significance of being an African-American Muslim in the Pittsburgh region and what you should know about Pittsburgh’s role in Islamic history in the United States.  For a deeper look into what Ali uncovered about his own family’s connection to religious history in the area, check out the story by PublicSource faith and religion reporter Chris Hedlin: “Pittsburgh was once a Black Muslim refuge.”

In this episode, you’ll hear Dena Stanley, activist and executive director of TransYOUniting PGH, on the emotional and mental labor it takes to defend equity and the protection of human rights for the Black and trans community.     We discuss how protests inform community organizing, how she feels about her “radical” reputation and the vulnerabilities of being a visible public defender of human rights in Allegheny County. 

The kind of hair service Pittsburgh-based entrepreneur LaToya Johnson-Rainey provides is for a particular clientele. Clients come to her in their most vulnerable time of need. Johnson-Rainey owns A Hair Boutique Shadyside, a private wig boutique specializing in medical wigs and hairpieces. She is also the author of The Hair Commandments; The Shalls & Shall Nots of Weaves, Wigs, and Natural Hair. Listen and learn how Johnson-Rainey is helping people find their perfect fit and style after trauma, illness and injury.

Are discussions about the non-human natural world relevant to folks outside of climate change and environmentalist circles? After listening to Pittsburgh urban ecologist Marijke Hecht, you’ll understand how everyone plays a role in creating the environment. For episode 6, we’re reviewing a Science Magazine article on how design patterns influenced by systemic racism affect green space and the plant and pest variety in your neighborhood. Do you see more weeds or butterflies where you live?  Hecht discusses her work as an urban ecologist and how community design, race and mental health are all related in Pittsburgh’s environmental ecosystem.

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.

An Obama Academy student interviews her grandma about civil rights, Malcolm X and 'being radical.'

Pittsburgh resident Kim Neely was taking the pandemic in stride. It was a relief, to some degree. And it was because her family was home alongside her, and that makes a big difference for the Black mom of two Black boys and wife of a Black man. On this episode, she shares how she's been impacted by the movement against racism and police brutality and the experience of taking her son to his first protest.

The coronavirus pandemic had already shut down Piper's Pub manager and punk band member Alex Peightal on many fronts. Then, he was dealt another blow: He contracted COVID-19. On this episode, Alex discusses the illness, recovery and his outlook.

More than two months into quarantine, it remains unclear when or how children will return to classrooms. How will they be evaluated? Would they be prepared to pick it up and start working on math and spelling? How would they cope with  'time lost' and be able to reconnect with their classmates and teachers? On this episode, a Wesley Family Services school counselor and a Pittsburgh Montessori teacher give us a glimpse into their students' lives now and how the adults are feeling about it, too.