Season 2 Ep.9 Chris Berg, an author, seminary graduate, and software executive from Plum, PA.

Chris Berg is a Pittsburgh area resident, sci-fi author, seminary graduate and software executive currently living in Plum, PA.In this episode, we reconnect after nearly a decade with a podcast guest whose life has woven together seminary study, sociology, software engineering, AI, nonprofit innovation, and deep community engagement in Pittsburgh.Our conversation begins with how we first crossed paths as Storyburgh had just started its journey in 2016 – inside the office of Adrien Walnoha, then the CEO of Community Human Services (CHS) – and follows the unlikely connections that carried him from Washington State, to seminary housing in East Liberty, to a lifelong journey through technology and social impact.Overall themes / takeaways:- The importance of combining social science (sociology, religion, human empathy) with technology/ software to address social problems.- Homelessness (and other social issues) cannot be solved with “one size fits all” — need solutions that reflect complexity: pets, identity, language, instability.- Timing matters: early-stage social-impact tech often fails due to cost, lack of infrastructure or awareness — but advances in AI and cloud make now a much more favorable moment.- The power of stories: whether in interviewing people or writing fiction — understanding lives, trauma, “journeys” — is essential for empathy-based problem-solving.- Social-service systems often fail because they impose linear, bureaucratic processes on chaotic human lives; real-world solutions need to account for recursion, uncertainty, and human improvisation.This is a story about cycles – of place, of identity, of the way software, sociology, and seminary thinking unexpectedly reinforce each other. It’s also a call for new collaboration between foundations, technologists, and social service organizations, especially now that individual innovators can build meaningful tools at a fraction of yesterday’s cost.Divide By Zero By Chris Berg can be found on Amazon.com #dividebyzero *** Adapted summary as generated by YT Summary / Glasp AI