This week on Forbes Avenue, we discussed the history of the West View with Andrew Bensch, a former archivist for the borough.

We started the discussion by going all the way back to the Native American tribes of the area. Then we talked about when Pittsburgh was on the frontier and followed the history of West View up til today! We also talked about the rise and fall of West View Park, which was an amusement park that competed with Kennywood throughout most of the 1900s. Tune in to learn a fun local history lesson over fall break!

Listen to the episode: Andrew Bensch

Abriana Bensch, host, audio engineer, researcher
Riona Duncan, audio editor
Recorded April 18, 2025; WRCT debut October 14, 2025

This week on Forbes Avenue, we’re airing a conversation WRCT’s Mandorichard (aka Richard Gordon) had with Peter Hay and Sali Zielachowski from Twin Vision Music Promotion about the current state of the music business.

Peter and Sali talked about Twin Vision’s role in helping independent radio stations like WRCT discover independent artists and new music; how the music and music radio industries have changed — and stayed the same; about different levels of success artists can have in the music industry; vinyl records; and other fascinating topics. You’ll even learn why it took The Beatles an extra year to find success in America!

Music fans, musicians, and radio fans will all enjoy this conversation!

Listen to the episode: Peter Hay and Sali Zielachowski

Richard Gordon, host, audio editor, audio engineer, researcher
Recorded July 28, 2025; WRCT debut October 7, 2025

For this episode of Forbes Avenue, we spoke to T. J. Murphy and Em Voelker about ReelQ – Pittsburgh’s longest running film festival and the the 6th oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world! ReelQ will run from October 3 to October 11 in 2025, and have 14 screenings of various films from the animated comedy Lesbian Space Princess to a documentary on the activist organization ACT UP.

T. J. and Em shared about the history of the festival, which started in 1982 when films were still on reel to reel tape. They also discussed the relevance of keeping up this work in the modern day, as well as the importance of representation and film media overall. Tune in to hear more about the best parts and challenges of holding such a long-running festival!

Listen to the episode: T. J. Murphy and Em Voelker

Riona Duncan, host, audio editor, audio engineer, researcher
Recorded September 26, 2025; WRCT debut September 30, 2025