On Sunday, the Tribune Review began running the series “Homegrown Terror,” about how and why U.S. citizens join with ISIS in combat overseas and the potential they may return here to bring the fight to the homeland. Joining us to discuss the series are Reporter Mike Wereschagin and photographer Andy Russell who recently spent time in Minneapolis visiting and talking with the Somali community there in the wake of a federal indictment that has charged 10 of its members with doing just that.
Wereschagin recalls the Somali community in Minneapolis expressing what persuaded their young men to provide material aid for terrorist groups:
"In this community what we saw and what we heard from people there was that it was not merely an economic issue, it wasn’t merely an educational issue, it wasn’t an issue of just alienation, it was all of these things combined." -Mike Wereschagin
Also, two local companies are collecting the data you need to rent your next living space. WESA Celebrates the great lottery fake of 1980, and Rebecca Harris unpacks the business of summer.
EDigs/Rent Jungle (starts at 22:27)
As we step into the field of renting a home or apartment, important factors such as safety, parking, cleanliness, and extra costs are often forgotten. Jennifer Mankoff, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, is here to discuss the newly developed website, EDigs, where useful data is collected to help predict utility costs. We’ll also talk with Jon Pastor, CEO and founder of Rent Jungle, to discuss this online search engine for rental housing and the connection between these two companies.
WESA Celebrates Inventing Pittsburgh (starts at 36:52)
In 1980 a group of Pittsburghers rigged the lottery and almost got away with it. Here's Margaret J. Krauss with this week's 90.5 WESA Celebrates Inventing Pittsburgh.
Business of Summer (starts at 41:00)
The warm, sunny weather means many businesses will be taking advantage of the outdoors to book business during this time period. This week from concerts to farmer’s markets, contributor Rebecca Harris, director of the Center for Women's Entrepreneurship at Chatham University, looks at what’s hot when it comes to the business of outdoor summer experiences.
More Essential Pittsburgh segments can be found here.