We talk about her lifelong love of animals, some of the many places she’s lived, including Pittsburgh where she and her husband, Boaz Frankel, have lived for about five years now. (They also wrote a book together titled Let’s Be Weird Together.)

You can sample her work on instagram where she posts as @sadanimalfacts

And you can also find her books at libraries and at bookstores across the country (and around the world!) including at her beloved White Whale Books at 4754 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood (where she also painted a mural on one wall). https://whitewhalebookstore.com/

Brooke also expresses some love for a local bakery called Five Points Artisan Bakeshop in Squirrel Hill at 6520 Wilkins Avenue. We love their vegan oatmeal & cranberry cookies!

https://fivepointsartisanbakeshop.com/

Born in Braddock, studied at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Day shares stories about his own history, how the festival that started as Fresh Fest in 2018 transformed into Barrel & Flow that was recognized in 2023 by USA TODAY as The Best Beer Festival in America. We talk about craft beer, community and Blowfish BBQ.

Day on Facebook: www.facebook.com/day.eastwood
Day on Instagram: www.instagram.com/daybracey/

Barrel & Flow website: www.barrelandflow.com/
Barrel & Flow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barrelandflow/
Barrel & Flow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/barrelandflow

Blowfish BBQ: www.instagram.com/blowfishbbq/

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

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Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

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GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.

We talk about her early years, her dreams of being an opera singer, her schooling, her successes, and the factors that led her to WQED-FM where she started to work for this all-classical-all-the-time radio station in 2000. She is on air weekdays from 2pm till 6pm.

To learn more about Anna and her many skills, click on these links:

On WQED-FM’s podcast VOICE OF THE ARTS

On a fundraiser for Pittsbugh Opera

A sample of her paintings

A short bio from North Hills Art Center

Anna talking about Sweeney Todd on Pittsburgh Vivant

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

------------------------------

Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

------------------------------

GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.

He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He has published many articles and delivered presentations in cities around the world. But he tells a great story about his father, working as a civil engineer on a highway construction project in 1990 in the jungle in Colombia.

And we learn a lot.

Follow him on Facebook and Linked In: Sebastian Lobo Guerrero

To learn more about AGES Inc., go to agesinc.com

For more about Swanson Engineering, check out engineering.pitt.edu

To learn about the I-579 CAP Urban Connector Project and Frankie Pace Park (also called the “SEA Cap” over the Crosstown Boulevard), go to www.pgh-sea.com/

The bridge collapse in Colombia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirajara_bridge_collapse
and www.bridgeweb.com/Report-published-on-fatal-Colombian-bridge-collapse/4659

For more about the revolutionary group often called FARC

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

------------------------------

Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

------------------------------

GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.

There's a lot about Rick—including his growing up in Bethel Park, PA, studying in Brazil and France, working at South Carolina Educational Television, and arriving at WQED in 1987. Rick has told a lot of stories about a lot of topics over the years, this episode highlights some of his own story.

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

------------------------------

Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

------------------------------

GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.

Tom also explains the origins of some of the organizations he works with including the Allegheny City Ragtime Orchestra, the Hot Club of Pittsburgh, and the Red Beans & Rice Combo. He’s a busy man with lots of good stories.

See him at work:

Allegheny City Ragtime Orchestra

Red Beans & Rice Combo

Listen to the Red Beans & Rice Combo (with special guest Rick Sebak) on WQED FM

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

------------------------------

Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

------------------------------

GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.

In this episode of GUMBANDS, he talks about growing up in Swisshelm Park, teaching himself to play piano, learning about ragtime, classical and New Orleans jazz, moving to other cities, and eventually how he introduced himself to the great Leon Redbone with whom he toured for several years. He has some really good stories.

To learn more about Tom Roberts visit his Wikipedia page

His personal page

His Facebook group about 78 rpm records: The Hot Club of Pittsburgh

His first appearance with Leon Redbone on “The Tonight Show” in 1990

Tom with Jacques Gauthé & The Creole Rice Jazz Band

Tom with the Pitsburgh trio known as the Red Beans & Rice Combo

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

------------------------------

Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

------------------------------

GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.

And you can hear (and see!) how they all connect with lots of help from Mark Houser, writer, historian, architectural reporter, tour-guide extraordinaire and our guest on this episode of the podcast. We had a good time talking to Mark, and we learned a lot. Give it go.

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

------------------------------

Support GUMBANDS: donate.wqed.org/wqed/gumbands

More GUMBANDS: www.gumbands.org

More from Rick Sebak:

NEBBY: Rick Sebak's Tales of Greater Pittsburgh: wqed.org/nebby

Pittsburgh History Series: wqed.org/watch/pittsburgh-history-series

Follow Rick on social:

Instagram: @ricksebak

Facebook: Rick Sebak

Twitter: @rickaroundhere

------------------------------

GUMBANDS is brought to you by WQED Pittsburgh and made possible by the Buhl Foundation.