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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 1d

As a photojournalist for over a decade now (eep), I've been in a lot of homes around the Pittsburgh region. With its Star Trek stained glass windows, built-in enclosures for his therapy snakes, and a workshop for constructing his bug-out vehicle, Vint's may take the cake as the most eclectic. 1/2

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 1d

OMG I'm awful, starting over!

Practicing psychiatry left me suicidal. Converting my pickup into an off-roader let me explore the world — and recover mine.

Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 1d

The pockets for art, music, construction, and filming his YouTube channel offer space to balance the demands of his psychiatry practice and serve as an homage to the philosophy that saved his life. More from Vint in @publicsource.org here: www.publicsource.org/medical-care... #mentalhealth

Psychiatrist Vint Blackburn reflects on mental health struggles in the stressful medical profession and the unlikely therapy found in a pickup.

$10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders From Trump Officials

Reposted by Stephanie Strasburg

Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 2d

Hot off the presses and ready to hit the streets — two new zines for our Oakland neighbors and our neighbors in Brookline, Carrick and Overbrook. @stephstrasburg.bsky.social even built a reading nook to celebrate!

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 7d

Two Sundays ago in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood... hanging out with the Pitt climbing club, with Mario, at The Corner's Steelers watch party, and the Schenley Plaza carousel. Looking forward to sharing a community project featuring stories on Oakland's four neighborhoods soon! @publicsource.org

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 12d

Today in PGH: Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

The screening, which tells Renaud's story through his final footage in Ukraine, is followed by a Q&A session w/ filmmakers & journalists, who will discuss journalist safety in today's media landscape.

www.backyarddocs.com

Backyard Docs

www.backyarddocs.com

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 27d

"..several international organizations...had offered to buy or accept a donation of the contraceptives. The government would have incurred no costs or might have even been able to recoup taxpayer funds under those scenarios.

..the administration decided to proceed with destroying the products..."

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 27d

“This decision will cost lives, derail progress in global health & strip millions of people of the basic tools they need to plan their families and protect their health.”

The $10 million in destroyed contraception had been purchased for women in low-income countries. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/h...

www.nytimes.com

What has Academic Freedom meant to you?

Reposted by Stephanie Strasburg

Rich Lord @richelord.bsky.social · 27d

Speech on campus — in the form of research, classroom instruction or student activism — has rarely been more fraught. If Academic Freedom has influenced your life, please tell us how. We may share it with readers next week. www.publicsource.org/academic-fre...

Share your input on academic freedom in higher ed — the freedom to research, publish and discuss relevant issues without censorship.

Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Sep 5

Working from Blawnox, PA today, which made me think of photographing late bluegrass legend Mac Martin here at the Starlite Lounge before his 2015 retirement. I'll never forget the way he talked about his wife and his life, just a pure peace and energy of love about him.

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Sep 5

Yes, thank you, already subscribed! 🫡

The Analog Allure of Photographers’ Contact Sheets

Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Sep 2

Great talk, Andy... I have so many things to read and other curators/photographers to look up in my notes now! Send in the coffee...

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Sep 2

"Elliott Erwitt, a Magnum photographer, said that contact sheets should be kept 'as private as conversations with a psychiatrist... A contact sheet lays bare the action of an entire shoot..." whether over a min., an hr, a day.

Gift article for my fellow photo nerds: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/a...

www.nytimes.com

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 29

Deepening the context of why we mark Labor Day,
@stevemellon412.bsky.social/Pittsburgh Union Progress traveled to West Virginia for the story of America’s deadliest workplace disaster & the hundreds of sickened workers who died, then were hidden & forgotten: www.unionprogress.com/2025/08/28/a...

At Hawk’s Nest, hundreds of sickened workers died, then were hidden and forgotten; it wasn’t an accident - Pittsburgh Union Progress

Sam Ward spent the first few minutes of Wednesday, Feb. 15, 1933, trying to suck enough air into his lungs to keep himself alive. Most likely he was lying on a bed in a crudely built shack near a smal...

www.unionprogress.com

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 29

Steelmaking deaths like the 2 this month at U.S. Steel’s Clairton plant were once almost routine.

Now, deadly explosions are big news, but construction/transport jobs are bigger killers.

A look at the worker safety landscape, then & now: www.publicsource.org/clairton-cok... @publicsource.org

Fatal explosions are big news, but construction, transportation jobs are now bigger killers

The Clairton Coke Works explosion killed 2 and injured 10. The tragedy highlights progress and lingering risks in U.S. workplace safety.

Involuntary ‘302’ hospitalizations fall more heavily on Black patients. Would AOT be different?

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 28

We had a deep conversation on process as rush hour traffic whizzed by above us. I'm often moving quickly, but I love the times when I get to photograph like this. Read this important reporting, part of a series on involuntary mental health care: www.publicsource.org/racial-dispa... @publicsource.org

Data from Allegheny County and neighboring states reveals the racial disparities behind court-ordered mental health care. Would AOT be different?

Winnie’s Wagon delivers kids’ science experiments to shelters and sidewalks

Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 28

What followed was a photo session led by inspiration in a space that previously held deep trauma for him. We followed pieces of graffiti, toyed with the spray of passing boats, twisted glass to find the right reflections, & talked on the phone as we tried to line up a photo from a distance apart.

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 28

Treble NLS suggested we return to the place where he was handcuffed in the midst of a mental health crisis for portraits for @venuri.bsky.social's story on how involuntary ‘302’ hospitalizations fall more heavily on Black patients. Trusting his vision, I met him at the edge of the Mon Wharf. 🧵

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 26

Can't get over this photo: Steelworkers in a Greek restaurant in Aliquippa, PA. Jan. 1941.
📸 by Jack Delano, part of the Farm Security Administration collection at the Library of Congress.

(Anyone know how the FSA photographers would light their photos back in the day? Realizing so many are lit...)

Black and white photo of three men seated at a round wooden table, two wear hats, one in the center looks at the camera. On the walls, a bank calendar from Mellon National Bank, a pin up girl calendar, and a poster that reads "Help Greece Now!" with images of classic Greek architecture and sculpture and a woman and baby looking scared.

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 19

The number of students without permanent housing is rising. A mobile classroom motors around the Pittsburgh region to bridge learning gaps caused by housing insecurity. Thanks to the Homeless Children’s Education Fund for letting us ride along. www.publicsource.org/winnies-wago... @publicsource.org

This mobile classroom crosses Allegheny County to turn sidewalks into schools, helping a growing number of kids with unstable housing to learn and dream.

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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 11

Photos from scene: Rescuers were continuing to search for one missing worker at the Clairton Coke Works hours after mid-morning explosions rocked the Mon Valley plant. The blasts killed one person and injured 10. www.publicsource.org/us-steel-cla... @publicsource.org @chwolfson.bsky.social

Activists pitch tents outside Downtown shelter, saying repeated encampment closures thwart their outreach

Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · Aug 8

Activists pitched tents outside Second Avenue Commons to protest the latest Pittsburgh encampment closure last night. Advocates and outreach workers say the closings mask the true problems as they attempt to support a growing unhoused population.
www.publicsource.org/allegheny-co...

Outreach workers say repeated clearings, like Friday's sweep by Second Avenue Commons, disrupt efforts to help Allegheny County’s unhoused.

Redefining our mission to deepen journalism and empathy for the Pittsburgh region

Reposted by Stephanie Strasburg

Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · Aug 6

“I’m calling to express my gratitude … ” Messages like these bolster our work to share inspiring stories in a media landscape often dominated by disempowering coverage. buff.ly/H2eTR6a

Behind Public Source’s mission and commitment to inform and inspire the Pittsburgh region with deep, independent journalism.

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Reposted by Stephanie Strasburg

Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · Jul 29

Local housing justice advocates gathered on July 28 to commemorate the mass displacement of Penn Plaza residents. Photojournalist @stephstrasburg.bsky.social was on the scene to document their calls for affordable housing in Pittsburgh. buff.ly/Tg1ZJJA