20 episodes

The Confluence is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in weekdays at 9 a.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more at wesa.fm.

The Confluence Kevin Gavin

    • News
    • 4.5 • 25 Ratings

The Confluence is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in weekdays at 9 a.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more at wesa.fm.

    Gainey administration plans months of community activities to help curb violence

    Gainey administration plans months of community activities to help curb violence

    On today’s episode of The Confluence:

    We speak with Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey about the latest in his Plan for Peace, his administration’s new Office of Equal Protection, and his thoughts about the now-public staffing study of the city’s police force.

    • 30 min
    County Executive candidate Joe Rockey’s top priorities include reducing crime, bringing jobs

    County Executive candidate Joe Rockey’s top priorities include reducing crime, bringing jobs

    On today’s episode of The Confluence:

    Yesterday, a jury of his peers decided the man they convicted of carrying out the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018 should be put to death. The formal sentencing hearing takes place this morning. David Harris, WESA’s legal analyst and law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, joins us to explain why survivors and victim’s family members get to share statements at this point in the trial, and if the case is likely to be appealed. (0:00 - 4:53)

    Joe Rockey is the Republican nominee for Allegheny County Executive, and he will face off against Sara Innamorato, the Democratic nominee. Although Rockey has no previous political experience, he says he will bring his experience as a “problem solver” to lead from a centrist perspective. (4:57 - 16:00)

    The City of Pittsburgh received $335 million dollars from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act. This week, Council approved shifting $21 million around, in order to meet a federal deadline. WESA’s Kiley Koscinski explains why the council is reallocating the funds and what’s left to spend. (16:01 - 22:30)

    • 22 min
    County Executive candidate Sara Innamorato’s top priorities include housing, addressing disparities

    County Executive candidate Sara Innamorato’s top priorities include housing, addressing disparities

    On today’s episode of The Confluence:

    With Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald term-limited, the county will see new leadership. Sara Innamorato served two full terms as state representative for the 21st district, and is now running as the Democratic nominee for County Executive. She joins us to discuss her priorities, from the jail to homelessness. (0:00 - 12:00)

    Summer is slowly winding down and fall is around the corner, but still there is plenty of time to check off activities on your Pittsburgh Bucket List. Rossilynne Culgan, author of “100 Things to do in Pittsburgh Before You Die,” shares her favorite activities and updates to her Pittsburgh bucket list. (12:08 - 22:30)

    • 22 min
    Pa. state budget stalemate may be easing, senators could get called back this month

    Pa. state budget stalemate may be easing, senators could get called back this month

    On today’s episode of The Confluence: There seems to be slight movement in the budget stalemate, with Senate Republican leaders indicating they might return in August instead of September; local Republicans have nominated Erin Connolly Autenreith to run for the 21st House District seat left vacant by the resignation of Sara Innamorato; and Point Park University’s Board of Trustees has appointed Chris Brussalis as the university’s ninth president.

    • 22 min
    NASA will carry CMU-made MoonRanger to search for lunar ice

    NASA will carry CMU-made MoonRanger to search for lunar ice

    On today’s episode of The Confluence:

    Since the pandemic, communities have been questioning how to better use office space, as some employees are still working remotely or in person only a few days a week. Strip District Neighbors recently published its latest “State of the Strip District 2023 Report,” which points out how that neighborhood is facing the same problem. Pamela Austin, president of the Strip District Neighbors, says there’s so much residential and retail growth in the area that she’s confident office occupancy will rise, and others are developing office spaces for flexible needs. (0:00 - 10:30)

    William “Red” Whitaker is known as the father of robotics, and as such, has many robot children: He’s built dozens of robots for various purposes. He’s also the founder and director of Carnegie Mellon University's Field Robotics Center. Whitaker joins us to discuss his latest project, the MoonRanger, which is an autonomous rover destined to search for ice on the moon. (10:35 - 22:30)

    • 22 min
    Pennsylvania looks to new school funding formula, but the timeline is unclear

    Pennsylvania looks to new school funding formula, but the timeline is unclear

    On today’s episode of The Confluence: Pennsylvania Senate Republican leaders have decided not to appeal to the state Supreme Court a ruling that the state’s education funding system violates the state constitution. We ask a panel of education experts where the state’s school funding policies could go next.Today’s guests include: Ron Cowell, founder and senior fellow at the Education Policy and Leadership Center; Michael Griffith, senior researcher and policy analyst at the Learning Policy Institute; and Matthew Kelly, assistant professor of education at Pennsylvania State University.The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. For those who have enjoyed listening to the show, find more episodes of The Confluence here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    • 22 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
25 Ratings

25 Ratings

Falloutguy78 ,

Sad to See it Go

I really enjoyed this. The day’s episode would come out a little before I typically leave for work and it is the exact length of my commute. I will miss having daily, local NPR stories keeping me informed.

StopMovingAndListen ,

Gaslighting around the extremist threat

Please broaden your advertising for “studying extremism” at Pitt and CMU to include WHY we still have school shootings. It makes me sick that tons of money is now going into the “extremist threat” when that attack on the Capital was just a matter of Capital Police not doing their job. How much money do we have to spend on homeland security to simply get them to do their job? We spend trillions on all these boogey men home and abroad. Just stop promoting this culture, the media is supposed to call out the gaslighting corporate state.

GBizzle065 ,

Good content, poor audio

The WESA sound engineer needs to learn how to set the sound level on par with the rest of the podcasts out there. Needing to turn the volume up to listen, only to get blasted by whatever podcast is next. Easy fix.

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