184. An Alley, A Cause, and Really Good Pizza ft. John Carruthers

184. An Alley, A Cause, and Really Good Pizza ft. John Carruthers

From I am Consciously Curious by Victor Chan

April 29, 2026 · 2h 41m

About this episode

John Carruthers shares how a pizza pop-up in an alley turned into a charitable initiative during the pandemic.

John Carruthers didn't set out to raise $100,000 for Chicago nonprofits. He just wanted to do something that felt useful when the world stopped making sense. When the pandemic hit, John — a writer and lifelong pizza obsessive — felt the helplessness that most of us did. What started as a weekly family ritual became something stranger and more beautiful — a secret alley pop-up, where strangers donate to John’s monthly charity of choice, show up to an alley, and eat great pizza. That's Crust Fu...

People in this episode

Host: Victor Chan

Guest: John Carruthers

Topics covered

  • charity
  • pizza
  • community
  • pandemic
  • nonprofits

Keywords

  • charity
  • pizza
  • Chicago
  • nonprofits
  • pandemic
  • community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crust Fu

Places: Chicago

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