The World History Center is pleased to share "Extraction," a three-part podcast series created by WHC Graduate Student Assistant in Public History, Chie Togami, with community partner GASP (Group Against Smog and Pollution)!
You can listen to the first episode – titled “Ore” – here.
You can listen to the second installment titled “Steel” here.
You can listen to the third installment titled “Air” here.
As a Graduate Student Assistant in Public History, Chie developed a branch of her dissertation scholarship into a public-facing project which culminated in a three-part podcast series, Extraction. Extraction traces the history of the United States Steel Corporation (the world’s first billion-dollar company) from its founding in 1901 through today, presenting stories of people and places from which U.S. Steel has extracted natural resources and labor. Part one (“Ore”) examines the creation of U.S. Steel, the origin of two of steel’s critical ingredients, iron ore and coal, and how the extraction of these resources has impacted the people and regions that have supplied them. Part two (“Steel”) considers the rise and decline of the steel industry in and around Pittsburgh, the pivotal role of unions in the fight for more fair and humane working conditions, and how the story of steel has, and continues, to be shaped by larger global forces. Part three (“Air”) discusses U.S. Steel’s continued impact on the local environment, specifically focusing on the issue of air quality. Interspersed with interviews with local residents, the final episode explores the company’s social and environmental legacy, and connects the local struggle for clean air to the larger, global fight for a healthy environment and a stable climate.
On October 7 at 7:00PM the WHC will co-sponsor an event with GASP featuring Chie's work titled "Community Voices: Pittsburgh, the United States Steel Corporation, and 120 years of extraction." The event will feature Edith Abeyta, Mel Packer, and Mike Stout, local activists featured in the podcast. Register here!