For this episode of Forbes Avenue, we spoke to Shanna Carrick, the executive director of ⁠Film Pittsburgh⁠. We talked about Pittsburgh’s cultural scene and why people should still go to the movies in the modern age of streaming.

We also talked about the upcoming JFilm festival! ⁠JFilm⁠ will be running from April 30 to May 10 this year and showcasing independent Jewish-themed movies. This year, they’ll be showing everything from coming-of-age dramas to documentaries, including “Steal This Story, Please!” which highlights Amy Goodman, the host of independent news program “Democracy Now.” (WRCT is the Pittsburgh affiliate, so you can tune in to “Democracy Now” here every morning at 8am.)

You can find the schedule for JFilm ⁠here⁠ if you need something to do after the NFL draft!

Listen to the interview: Film Pittsburgh

Riona Duncan, host, audio editor, audio engineer, researcher
Recorded March 20, 2026; WRCT debut April 21, 2026.

This week on Forbes Avenue, we aired an interview with Samuel Lemley, Director of CMU’s Posner Center For Special Collections, in which he introduced us to the Center’s new location, discussed upcoming exhibitions and events, and explained the significance of the collection.

We toured the Posner Center’s current exhibition, Rare Books & Ancestral Machines, and discovered an Enigma cipher device from World War II; an excerpt from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, originally titled Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, that mocked 18th Century fascination with technology; a 17th Century Japanese guide to using an abacus; and other fascinating rare books and devices that are precursors to contemporary ideas and devices.

We also learned that working with original books, publications, objects, papers, and artwork can lead a student or a researcher to make fascinating discoveries about the work and the time the work was originally published.

Finally, Lemley reminded us that the UK Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, is coming to the Posner Center at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, to give a lecture on Shakespearean sonnets and language and their effect on contemporary poetry. CMU’s copy of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays (1623) will be on display at the event.

Listen to the interview: Samuel Lemley

Credits:
Abriana Bensch, interviewer, researcher
Richard Gordon, interviewer, researcher, audio engineer, audio editor
Recorded: April 8, 2026
WRCT debut: April 14, 2026

This week on Forbes Avenue, we visited the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse. The Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse is a nonprofit that operates a store that accepts donations of used art and craft supplies, and sells them so that they can have a second life.

Executive Director Cammie Brady and Creative Manager Lia Kowalski took us on a tour through the shop floor and the warehouse to see what the Center for Creative Reuse has to offer. We also discussed their community outreach and art programs, as well as the joy of using unconventional art materials. Tune in to hear a conversation that will spark your creativity!

Listen to us tour the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse here.

Riona Duncan, host, researcher, audio engineer, audio editor
Abriana Bensch, host, researcher