I’m a Pittsburgh kid. I grew up just north of the city in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. I’m also a bit of an audiophile. So, to stay entwined with my roots, I subscribe to Pittsburgh-based podcasts.
There’s a smorgasbord of Pittsburgh entertainment and culture on podcasts to add to your queue. From business and health to entertainment and sports (and even more sports), you’ll find a Pittsburgh podcast to fit just about every genre.
When picking the best, I was only slightly subjective. The long list of shows can be narrowed based on entertainment value, currency (i.e., recent episodes), back episodes (i.e., a deep, rich archive), and a little something extra that emanates from Yinzer culture to make it a true Pittsburgh podcast.
Drinking Partners
If there’s a formula for a good podcast, it’s having a good co-host. When co-hosts have chemistry, as is the case with “Drinking Partners,” the podcast rises to the top like the froth on a favorite microbrew.
Listening to co-host comics Ed Bailey and Day Bracey, who enjoy craft brews while recording, is as educational as it is entertaining. They mix in great interviews with entertainers, politicians, and entrepreneurs, many of whom are also based in Pittsburgh, in such a way that you feel like you’re enjoying a cold one with friends.
Want a good Pittsburgh podcast binge? Check their archive which dates back to 2014. Learn more about Drinking Partners at https://www.facebook.com/partnerspod and their annual festival co-hosted by Black Brew Culture, Barrel & Flow Fest, at www.barrelandflow.com.
Yinz Are Good
Do you enjoy a feel-good story? Get ready for a bunch of them. “Yinz Are Good” is a must for every Pittsburgh pick-me-up podcast playlist. This is because, for all the good news happening in and around the ‘Burgh, there’s no one who casts it better than Tressa Glover. She’s a natural behind the microphone, which might not be surprising when you learn she’s also a talented actor, writer and producer.
According to Glover’s site, the podcast “celebrates the good stuff out there and the good people who remind us that kindness, compassion and sincerity exist, even in these precarious times.” Her guests range from local community leaders and small-business owners, but the best part might be that many of her stories come directly from listeners.
Have a story about something good happening in PGH? Email the show at [email protected] or visit https://www.yinzaregood.com.
VeryLocal note: As Glover notes on her website, “Yinz” is the Pittsburgh version of “Y’all.”
Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show
Okay, full disclosure. I interned for WDVE back in… well, let’s just say it was more than a few years ago. That summer, the DVE Morning Show was hosted by two of the funniest guys to ever come from PGH, Scott Paulson and Jim Krenn. Fast forward a few decades and it’s Randy Baumann’s turn to run the show. Just like Paulson and Krenn, his crew is hilarious and make you feel like you’re downtown, or roaming the South Side or strolling the Strip.
They adapted the morning show of Pittsburgh’s number one FM station into episodes with two-plus hours of fun, sports, and odd takes on today’s headlines. What makes their show one of the best is that Baumann’s crew — Val Porter, Bill Crawford, Mike Prisuta — always find a way to make Pittsburgh connections to news from beyond Western PA.
Find them at https://dve.iheart.com.
Very Local note: locals will know to drop the “W” from WDVE when mentioning the station.
DK Pittsburgh Sports
This was hard. Have you ever done a search for “Pittsburgh sports” on your favorite audio streaming platform? Plus, picking the best PGH sports podcast is like picking your favorite kid. They’re all special in their own way. It’s also tough to find the best because most focus only on one team (e.g., mostly the Steelers) or sport.
So, among the many podcasts, I probably listen most to Dejan Kovacevic’s DK Pittsburgh Sports. He’s a Pittsburgh sports journalism veteran, having worked for the Post-Gazette, and later the Tribune-Review. Thanks in part to a talented production team, Kovacevic is able to offer quick hits on everything from the professional teams in town to the local college sports scene.
Learn more about DK Pittsburgh Sports at https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com
L3 Leadership
I found the L3 Leadership Podcast while crowdsourcing “best podcasts in Pittsburgh” with my Facebook pals. This one is a hidden gem for professionals on the hunt for leadership strategies. Co-founded by husband and wife team Laura and Doug Smith, L3 explores what it means to be a leader, often with some of the best known names in Pittsburgh as their guests.
Check out featured episodes with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and two episodes with former Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle. Dig deeper into their archives and you’ll find episodes that explore leadership with experts from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation.
Read more about L3 at https://l3leadership.org/podcast/
Pittsburgh Oddcast
Thanks to the support of another Pittsburgh media powerhouse, KDKA radio, the Pittsburgh Oddcast was celebrated for it’s quirky discoveries of Pittsburgh history. From giants that roamed the three rivers, to an infamous jailbreak, to Pittsburgh’s secret island community, there’s an odd story for every history buff.
Although the Oddcast team stopped producing new episodes in mid-March 2020, the archive is a worthy binge for listeners in search of carefully curated content on our amazingly quirky history. Coincidentally, they posted their final full episode on Pittsburgh history in connection to the Spanish Flu of 1918 right around the same time COVID was breaking in the U.S.
The spirit of Oddcast is alive and well in other forms on the Oddcast Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OddPittsburgh/
Making Pittsburgh Healthy
Dr. Aaron Tressler, host of Making Pittsburgh Healthy, lays out the mission of his weekly podcast: to make Pittsburgh “the healthiest city in America, naturally.” That last word, naturally, is key to Tressler’s mission.
His guests are some of the foremost medical and natural health experts in the world. Conversations are deep dives into fitness and exercise, nutrition, mental health, homeopathy and supplementation.
Learn more about Dr. Tressler’s podcast at www.makingpittsburghhealthy.com and check out MPH episodes dating back to May 2020.
A few more podcasts hosted by Pittsburghers to add to your queue
Ya Jagoff
John Chamberlin and Rachael Rennebeck have been talking to Pittsburghers about Pittsburgh for over 5 years. If you are interested in learning more about people and happenings around town, Ya Jagoff is a podcast to add to your list.
🔗 Website
Going Deep with Aaron Watson
If you are interested in entrepreneurship and innovation, this is a good place to start. With almost 500 episodes, Aaron has interviewed entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh and from around the globe.
🔗 Website
Ghoul on Ghoul
“A supernatural, sex-positive, horror comedy podcast featuring first-person encounters with the paranormal” is the Twitter bio for the Ghoul on Ghoul podcast. This weekly show is hosted by Sarah Cadence Hamm and Amanda Waltz and covers everything from pop culture to psychics.
🔗 Website | Follow @ghoulxghoulpod on Twitter for updates
Professor Buzzkill
Joe Coohill, aka Professor Buzzkill hosts a weekly podcast all about history myths.
🔗 Website
Interested in starting your own podcast?
Pittsburgh is a great place to start podcasting. One of the biggest podcast hosting services, Libsyn.com is headquartered here in Pittsburgh. If you are looking for help with recording your own podcast, check out Epicast and Sorgatron Media, both of these businesses have recording studios and work on all aspects of podcast production.
More Pittsburgh podcasts?
Did we miss someone? Know of another podcast that should be on this list? Please let us know! Send an email to [email protected]
