Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Mr. McFeely meets his puppet alter ego; ‘The Office’ mural in Scranton, Pirates’ ratings rise

Rob Owen | Monday, October 9, 2023 12:35 p.m.

Courtesy Lackawana County Visitor’s Bureau

A new mural of characters from “The Office” has gone up in Scranton.

In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment including a video of Pittsburgh actor David Newell, best known as Mr. McFeely on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” meeting his puppet alter ego from PBS’s “Donkey Hodie.” Newell visited the set of the Fred Rogers Productions’ series in Chicago in August and filmed a sweet video with the puppeteer who performs Turtle-Lou, a “speedy delivery” person inspired by Mr. McFeely.

Our pals David Newell, aka Mr. McFeely, Frankie Cordero and Turtle-Lou sit down to talk “speedy delivery”! pic.twitter.com/wsMpnB7MDz

— Donkey Hodie (@DonkeyHodiePBS) October 6, 2023

Owen and Benz discuss a cryptic Facebook post by KDKA-TV meteorologist Falicia Woody in which she posts about “feeling very down, hurt, and degraded.”

Owen confirms Pittsburgher Tanner Courtad is indeed, as rumors suggested, on the new season of “Bachelor in Paradise.”

The pair also discuss how Pirates’ ratings rose during the 2023 MLB season compared to a year earlier and where things stand for the Pirates on TV in 2024.

They also discuss the state of the SAG-AFTRA strike, a new mural featuring the cast of “The Office” that’s been unveiled in Scranton and the decision by Roy Wood Jr. to exit “The Daily Show” after he was seemingly passed over for the job as the show’s new host.

Listen to Pittsburgh Pop on the TRIBLive Podcast Network or on iTunes.