It’s the age-old story of a Brooklyn-born drama teacher who stumbles into the computer science program of a major university and pioneers an entirely new field of study. Don and Brian talk baseball, teaching digital natives and existential phenomenological psychology. Yeah, that’s right, existential phenomenological psychology and baseball.

Almost all successful products are design with empathy for the human experience. Brian and Erin talk human-to-human about how observation and curiosity can be just as important as engineering when it comes to modern design. And while she has traveled the globe she still finds Polish Hill in Pittsburgh to be the best place to call home.

Made in Pittsburgh doesn't mean what it used to. A lot of the economic growth is coming from the craft sector. Adam and Gordon talk glass blowing and the dynamics of connecting artist entrepreneurs with capital and markets.

We kick off our podcast careers visiting with stand-up-comedian-turned-brand-strategist Dave Popelka. Brian and Dave trace the meandering path that covers his educational paths, his stand up, his brief Brookstone career and how he broke into the advertising world without much of an idea of what he was getting into. All he knew was that “these were my people.”