In this eye-opening conversation, Aaron sits down with economic historian Chris Bream, author of Beyond Steel: Pittsburgh and the Economics of Transformation to unpack one of the most dramatic industrial collapses in American history — and what it reveals about the future of cities, regions, and the country.
Pittsburgh went from being the steel capital of the world to losing hundreds of thousands of jobs and people in just a few brutal years in the early 1980s. Chris explains why the collapse was so sudden and so total, how generations of warnings were ignored, and how Pittsburgh eventually began to rebuild around talent, education, and knowledge industries.
This is far more than local history — it’s a powerful case study in economic denial, disruptive change, identity tied to work, and what successful regional adaptation actually looks like in the 21st century.
CHAPTERS:
(0:00 Introduction)
(0:59 Why Pittsburgh became the steel capital of the world )
(3:24 Geography, coal, rivers, and Andrew Carnegie’s real role )
(5:18 How steel came to dominate and displace every other industry)
(7:54 Steel wasn’t just jobs — it became Pittsburgh’s entire identity )
(10:03 The shocking speed of the 1980s collapse — what really happened )
(13:21 Paul Volcker, 21% interest rates, and the Rust Belt reckoning )
(15:21 Warnings ignored for decades: reports from the 1940s, 1960s, and earlier)
(19:24 Why temporary booms kept postponing the inevitable day of reckoning )
(23:27 Denial, hubris, and the human cost of believing “it will never end” )
(27:14 How Pittsburgh actually recovered — the real story )
(29:47 The roots of the knowledge economy go back decades before the crash )
(31:20 Lessons for the rest of America: what declining regions can, and can’t, do )
(33:52 Rethinking success in places that won’t grow anymore )
CHRIS BRIEM LINKS:
🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/chrisbriem
📖 Beyond Steel: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Steel-Pittsburgh-Economics-Transformation/dp/1606355023/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=theurban-20
CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN:
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