Benji. holds little, if anything, back on his latest album, "Smile, You’re Alive!" The Pittsburgh native spoke with WYEP’s Joey Spehar for the Live & Direct series about the inspiration behind his music, his career trajectory and how he almost lost his entire album before its release. Benji. was recently named one of NPR's top artists to watch ...…

Representative Guy Reschenthaler has only been in Congress for a couple months, representing a swath of rural southwestern Pennsylvania. But he's already criticized a bill to expand background checks for firearm purchases, and questioned former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker on Capitol Hill.By lperkins@wesa.fm (lperkins).

In December 1963, an Army captain named Floyd James Thompson shipped out from Fort Bragg, N.C. to Vietnam.By bodriscoll@wesa.fm (Bill O'Driscoll).

Over the next few days in Vatican City, Pope Francis will meet with bishops from around the world to address ongoing clergy sexual abuse scandals, including those accused in Pennsylvania.By mharris@wesa.fm (Megan Harris).

The Allegheny County public defender’s office underspent its budget for the sixth consecutive year in 2018.By aherring@wesa.fm (An-Li Herring).

In 1960, the same year the Pittsburgh Pirates won their third World Series title, another athletic league was making a name for itself in the city. That’s when a Hill District native named Mildred Allen helped create one of the largest community athletic associations in Pittsburgh: the Triboro Softball League.…

An estimated 2,400 lectures and 1,000 concerts were given at Terezín Concentration Camp during World War II, including Requiem , a Catholic funeral march composed by Giuseppe Verdi in 1874.By mharris@wesa.fm (Megan Harris).

At a Murrysville strip mall last month, more than a dozen people, mostly women in their 50s, 60s and 70s, crowded into a storefront.By sboden@wesa.fm (Sarah Boden).

Community can exist in any place where two or more humans gather. Port Authority operator Jill Smallwood sees it at rush hour, as she drives the P1 route from downtown Pittsburgh to Swissvale and back again. As her bus gets crowded, Smallwood can’t see all the way to the back of the bus, so she’ll appeal to her riders, “Do we have any room in t ...…

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court made a controversial decision in December, ruling that women who use drugs during pregnancy are not guilty of child abuse. The case involved a woman who gave birth to a child with neo-natal abstinence syndrome, which occurs when a baby is withdrawing from drugs they were exposed to in the womb. Joann Cyganovich, exe ...…

A state law that takes effect in April has some mental health advocates concerned, even as others tout it as a way to help people with serious mental illnesses.By skovash@wesa.fm (skovash).

The African American History Commission Act was signed last year to recognize and highlight the resilience and cultural contributions of Africans and African Americans in the 400 years since they first landed in Virginia, by force as slaves. Samuel Black, director of African American programs at the Heinz History Center and immediate past presi ...…

The people have spoken: a token from Kennywood Park will be sent to the moon's surface as part of Pittsburgh company Astrobotic's first lunar payload, scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2021.By kdavis@wesa.fm (Kathleen J. Davis).

Even on a wet February day, the gray skies and constant rain does not stop Allegheny CleanWays from doing what it does best. Volunteers are removing piles of trash from empty lots, alleyways and residences in Homewood.By cayers@wesa.fm (cayers).

West Homestead native Jeff Goldblum has a knack for booking roles in lucrative Hollywood franchises like Jurassic Park and the Marvel universe, but he's nurtured another love, albeit quietly, for most of his life: jazz.By mharris@wesa.fm (Megan Harris).

Three new candidates have entered an already-crowded race to replace Pittsburgh City Councilor Ricky Burgess . If the field holds, Burgess could face five challengers on the Democratic primary ballot in the 9th District this spring.By aherring@wesa.fm (An-Li Herring).

The publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette paid a “bizarre” visit to the newsroom at around 10 p.m. Saturday, according to newsroom employees who witnessed the events.By lperkins@wesa.fm (lperkins).

Last summer, companies across the country, including Mylan Pharmaceuticals in Pittsburgh, began recalling large quantities of blood pressure drugs after carcinogens were found in the medications. Commonly prescribed medications including valsartan, losartan, irbesartan and Amvalo were affected. Dr. Raghu Tadikamalla, cardiologist and hypertensi ...…

Pittsburgh is known for its historically ethnic neighborhoods – such as the Italians of Bloomfield, or the Polish of Polish Hill, but one area of downtown has an ethnic history that is less apparent.By kdavis@wesa.fm (Kathleen J. Davis).

Rason Conner has almost exclusively been taught by white, female teachers.By sschneider@wesa.fm (Sarah Schneider).