Our podcast, titled “Pittsburgh Plates”, fits correctly in the narrative nonfiction and interview genres. In each episode, we tell a real story of Pittsburgh by talking with the people who make the city’s food culture unique and authentic to the town. In episode 1, we dive deeper into the Polish culture of Pittsburgh. Our focus was on the restaurant Pierogies Plus, where we interviewed the owner, Helen, to hear her perspectives on how Polish traditions shaped the area. Episode 2 also follows the theme of food and drink. In this episode, we looked at local coffee shops in Pittsburgh and how they have become important community social spaces. Since we use real interviews, real places, and background sounds from each spot, our show fits into narrative nonfiction more than anything else.

My own podcast habits aren’t exactly the same as the most popular genres in the U.S, such as comedy or TV recaps. Usually, I like listening to podcasts about real people and their true stories, which is why I think I tend to enjoy narrative nonfiction. That definitely influenced how we decided to approach Pittsburgh Plates, because we tried to focus on interesting people with meaningful stories and culture behind each business. Even if our listening habits aren’t super mainstream, they helped guide the style and direction of our episodes,