A podcast by 2 Pitt professors is among the year’s best, according to the New York Times

A podcast by two professors in the Department of English was included on the New York Times’ list of best podcasts of 2024.

“Cement City” is a 10-part documentary that explores what it’s like to live in the small towns in America’s one-time manufacturing hubs. Jeanne Marie Laskas, Distinguished Professor of English, and Erin Anderson, audio producer and assistant professor, purchased a home in Donora, Pennsylvania, and moved there to learn more firsthand. The episodes span three years and feature the stories of many residents.

Laskas is the author of eight books, including “To Obama: With Love, Joy, Anger, and Hope,” and New York Times bestseller “Concussion,” which was the basis for a 2015 film of the same name. She is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, a correspondent at GQ and a two-time National Magazine Award finalist. Her stories have also appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Esquire.

Anderson is a writer, audio producer and multimedia artist whose independent radio and podcast work has been featured on KCRW’s “UnFictional,” WHYY’s “The Pulse,” and “Serendipity.” She won a Sarah Lawrence College International Audio Fiction award for her first audio drama in 2016.