Cut Pathways

“Steel City Outsiders and the Institutional Avant-Garde,” the third season of Cut Pathways, a podcast produced by the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, investigates the history of avant-garde arts organizations and communities in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood in and around the 1970s. 

In the 1970s, Oakland emerged as an unlikely center for avant-garde arts. Pittsburgh prided itself on its blue-collared nature, a work ethic born in the flames of the steel mills and reflected in its successful sports teams. Still, fueled by social and political tensions and newly available technology, a growing audience in the city craved experimental filmmaking, abstract sculpture, computer-generated art, and other new artforms. Influential Oakland institutions like Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pittsburgh, along with emerging arts organizations like Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Selma Burke Art Center, began producing spaces where artists could experiment and establish communities built around non-mainstream ideas. 

Through oral history interviews and commentary from special guests, hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo examine the sometimes invigorating, sometimes uneasy relationships among the artists, communities, and institutions in Oakland during the 1970s. The podcast looks at influential leaders like Sally Dixon, whose societal privilege and passion for avant-garde film cemented the institutional connections needed to found the Film Section at Carnegie Museum of Art and Pittsburgh Filmmakers; and Duane Palyka, who faced rejection for his experiments with computer-generated art at Carnegie Mellon University until he received unexpected encouragement from a founder of artificial intelligence.

“The Wild West of Computing” Live! An Oral History Podcast Performance from Cut Pathways
Created by the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program in the University Libraries

This episode is a live recording of an event held on April 7. Hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo take you on a 68-minute journey through the fascinating history of computer science at Carnegie Mellon. Hear voices like Raj Reddy, Jesse Quatse, and Sherri Nichols, and stories about the DARPA grant that started it all, the Coke machine that inspired the Internet of Things, and more. Guest appearances by historian Andrew Meade McGee and curator Sam Lemley, who presents early computing machines. Live electronic music by How Things Are Made and real-time story illustrations (sorry you can't see these on the podcast) by multidisciplinary artist and designer Maggie Lynn Negrete. 

This episode also features newer oral history interviews that were conducted after Cut Pathways, Season 2 was released.

The second season of Cut Pathways, the oral history podcast from the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, dives into the influential history of computer science at CMU. In a six-episode series, titled “The Wild West of Computing,” hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo along with guests historian Andrew Meade McGee and Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley show how the culture surrounding computer science significantly altered the reputation of the school from 1956 to 1987. 

 

In this episode, we mark the end of "The Wild West of Computing." Collaborations between CMU, industry, and the government strengthen and funding is increasingly tied to specific projects. Computer science at CMU in the 1980s expanded with new departments and institutes. This episode focuses on the emergence of robotics, software, and the Andrew Project. Historian Andrew Meade McGee guests.

The second season of Cut Pathways, the oral history podcast from the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, dives into the influential history of computer science at CMU. In a six-episode series, titled “The Wild West of Computing,” hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo along with guests historian Andrew Meade McGee and Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley show how the culture surrounding computer science significantly altered the reputation of the school from 1956 to 1987. 

 

In this episode, former director at DARPA Clint Kelly discusses the Autonomous Land Vehicle in the mid 1980s. Guest Andrew Meade McGee joins us to discuss the impact of DARPA funding at this time.

 

The second season of Cut Pathways, the oral history podcast from the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, dives into the influential history of computer science at CMU. In a six-episode series, titled “The Wild West of Computing,” hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo along with guests historian Andrew Meade McGee and Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley show how the culture surrounding computer science significantly altered the reputation of the school from 1956 to 1987. 

 

In this episode, author Pamela McCorduck discusses her research in artificial intelligence in the 1970s. Pamela tells stories about her friendships with Herb Simon and Allen Newell, her book Machines Who Think, and a secretive group called the Squirrel Hill Sages. Sam Lemley joins us to talk about the Traub-McCorduck Collection—50 calculating machines, letters and books—housed at the CMU Libraries.

The second season of Cut Pathways, the oral history podcast from the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, dives into the influential history of computer science at CMU. In a six-episode series, titled “The Wild West of Computing,” hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo along with guests historian Andrew Meade McGee and Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley show how the culture surrounding computer science significantly altered the reputation of the school from 1956 to 1987. 

 

In this episode, we look at the departure of influential figure, Alan Perlis, staff cuts, and a rebuilding the Department of Computer Science.

The second season of Cut Pathways, the oral history podcast from the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, dives into the influential history of computer science at CMU. In a six-episode series, titled “The Wild West of Computing,” hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo along with guests historian Andrew Meade McGee and Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley show how the culture surrounding computer science significantly altered the reputation of the school from 1956 to 1987. 

 

In this episode, we learn how funding from Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) advanced computer science research at CMU. 

The second season of Cut Pathways, the oral history podcast from the Carnegie Mellon University Oral History Program, dives into the influential history of computer science at CMU. In a six-episode series, titled “The Wild West of Computing,” hosts Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo along with guests historian Andrew Meade McGee and Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley show how the culture surrounding computer science significantly altered the reputation of the school from 1956 to 1987. 

 

In this episode, we get a byte-sized history of computing and learn about the very early days of computer science at CMU.