Valerie Gatchell-Christofel and David Rullo probably crossed paths at The Beehive in the early ’90s. She was a devoted patron-turned-employee at the East Carson Street coffeehouse, which served as a community hub for Gen X musicians, creatives and students. Rullo, a point Park student, was a regular. But the two wouldn’t meet for another 30 years, when Rullo was writing a book about The Beehive.
“That’s where everybody went to find out the new things,” said Gatchell-Christofel, Broadmoor Avenue. “During that time the new music was coming out and it all kind of filtered into The Beehive.”
Once strangers with a mutual love for the South Side institution, Gatchell-Christofel and Rullo are now cohosts of a weekly podcast devoted to the era that shaped them and the city they call home. On Gen X Pgh, they reminisce about life in Pittsburgh during the days when grunge took over the airwaves and flannel was everywhere. The show looks back at the movers and shakers who transformed the Steel City when fans still sat in Three Rivers Stadium. The podcast features interviews with local artists, politicians and entrepreneurs, recorded live on Tuesday evenings at Potomac Station Coffeehouse in Dormont.
Since they launched the podcast in January 2026, Gatchell-Christofel and Rullo have interviewed former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, radio personality Jim Krenn and Ed Travesari, who was responsible for boosting the city’s live music scene. They are now booking guests three months in advance, with no shortage of content in sight.
The hosts say the podcast is both a nostalgic escape and an educational series on some lesser-known parts of Pittsburgh’s history. Rullo, a journalist and author of Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ‘90s Scene, thinks the city provides a unique backdrop for exploring the era.
“What’s interesting is when you’re looking at Pittsburgh in the mid-’80s to 2000 it was the worst period for the city, but for people our age, there was a whole excitement and glamor to it,” he said. “You could squat in an empty warehouse, and you could open an art gallery for nothing. One of the things that’s so fascinating about the podcast is having the opportunity to talk to some of the people who really were the architects in bringing Pittsburgh back.”
Gatchell-Christofel agrees that part of Pittsburgh’s appeal in the ’90s was the opportunities it provided for Gen Xers like herself. A native of Ohio, she began studying fashion merchandising at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1988, earning a two-year degree before moving to New York and then L.A. Her first “real job” was working in hair and makeup at MTV, one of the most iconic TV networks and one that is synonymous with Gen X.
“Walking into the studios in dirty, gritty Manhattan before it had its change was something I never thought I would do,” said Gatchell-Christofel. “It was still a job. You can’t ask for autographs and you can’t get pictures, but you really wanted to.”
Looking to settle down after her days at MTV, she returned to Pittsburgh in 1996 and taught at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, while also helping with productions around the city. Gatchell-Christofel raised her son here, alongside her husband, Kurt, who is chief of the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department. Gatchell-Christofel served for a time as a volunteer firefighter.
Now, she is putting much of her time into the nostalgic journey she’s on with Rullo, with the help of his wife, Kim, who serves as producer, and editor Brent Isaac. Rullo believes he found the perfect podcast partner in Gatchell-Christofel.
“Valerie is very comfortable sitting in front of a camera and talking to people,” he said. “I knew she was the right person to be the cohost of this show.”
Together, the two are enjoying the weekly rewind, as it takes them back to a more carefree time in their lives and a unique era in the history of Pittsburgh.
“It’s been so good to reconnect with so many people who at that time we might have heard or known about, but now we’re getting a chance to hang out with and interview,” said Gatchell-Christofel. “I just love the fact that we can look back, and every single person goes, ‘Oh I miss those days.’”
The Gen X Pgh podcast is available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts and other major platforms, and on WQED+.