"90.5 WESA Celebrates Inventing Pittsburgh" is a new historically focused series which airs during "Morning Edition" and on "Essential Pittsburgh." Over the next year, producer Margaret J. Krausswill capture stories from Pittsburgh’s more than 250-year history, connecting the steel city's past to its present.
Krauss previews the new project for us, first by explaining how an expensive rug led to the political downfallof Charles H. Kline, the last elected Republican mayor of Pittsburgh.
By illegally purchasing an item for the city that was over $500 during the Great Depression, he and his rug became a symbol of corrupt city government.
Krauss says it is small stories like this that illuminate Pittsburgh's roots, and the series is meant to connect the dots:
If you look hard enough, there is a Pittsburgh connection everywhere, but more importantly, Pittsburgh leads everywhere in the sense that it is connected to all these world trends. You can find our [Pittsburgh] DNA across the United States.”