Detroit is Different

“Most folks that came north from the South weren't migrants—they were refugees,” Jen Ingram declares, setting the tone for this powerfully layered conversation. In this Detroit is Different episode, we trace coins and culture with Numismatics Noir founder Jen Ingram, whose passion for Black coin collecting merges family legacy, precious metals, and African American storytelling. “I’m building this...

"Solar power is just sunlight hitting your skin, because your skin is a semiconductor too." That quote from Ali Dirul of Ryter Cooperative Industries launches a Detroit is Different conversation that electrifies history and reimagines the future. In this powerful episode, Ali breaks down energy democracy, off-grid engineering, and building a sustainable Detroit from D-Town Farms to Highl...

"People don’t care about policy—they want to know if you care about them." Detroit is Different is back in studio with District 1 Detroit City Councilmember James Tate, and we’re getting deep. Tate returns to the mic not just as a policymaker but as a Black man opening up about what it truly means to protect your crown—mentally, spiritually, and politically. In one of the most personal D...

"If you don’t impact your environment, your environment’s going to impact you." That’s how Glenn Wilson, President and CEO of Communities First Inc., sets the tone in this powerful Detroit is Different episode. What started as a casual connection in New Orleans blossoms into a deeply honest conversation about housing, healing, and hope. Glenn shares the raw journey from surviving a child...

"Hip hop wasn’t just music—it was a mirror, a movement, and a megaphone for the unheard. We weren’t just playing records; we were broadcasting revolution."Detroit is Different episode featuring Brother Sayeed Sanders, executive producer of the legendary 1990s Detroit/Windsor-based hip-hop TV show Kicking Knowledge. From Mississippi roots and snowy first days on Linwood to being recruited...

"Man, I felt taller, lighter — like I lost a burden I didn’t even know I was carrying.” That’s how Ray Stone describes the moment everything changed. In this powerful and provocative Detroit is Different interview, Stone breaks down the realness behind his health journey, the legacy of Detroit’s Black neighborhoods, and the deeper meanings of healing and ownership. With quotes like “All probl...

"I saw who murdered my son—why won't the justice system believe me?" In this gripping and emotional episode of Detroit is Different, Shamayim "Mama Shu" Harris returns to the studio to share a raw and heartbreaking account of the murder of her son, Chinyelu Humphrey, in the winter of 2021. Mama Shu opens up about the pain of witnessing the crime, the years of being ignored by l...

"You can't fix what you don't understand, and I understand Detroit because I've lived it." This week on Detroit is Different, Saunteel Jenkins takes the mic and the city into her heart as she opens up about growing up on Joy Road with six kids, one bathroom, and more love than space. “I didn’t even know we were poor,” she laughs, describing a Detroit childhood full of dance routines, Koo...

"You’ve got to have something you control—and for us, that’s Soul Detroit." Zana Smith, founder of Spectacles Boutique, as she reflects on 41 years of fashion, funk, and fearlessness in Detroit’s ever-changing downtown. In this deep-dive episode of Detroit is Different, Zana opens up about starting on Dexter in the psychedelic '70s, when “we were one of the first head shops with Easy Wid...

"If you want to make $100K as a filmmaker, all you need is $11.40 an hour—24 hours a day." That’s the kind of paradigm-shifting wisdom Timashion Jones drops in this electric episode of Detroit is Different. From childhood summers flipping on mattresses in west side alleys to building cinematic masterpieces screened on Tubi and PBS, Timashion shares how his upbringing in a tight-knit Detr...

"I came to Detroit and realized—this ain’t a city you read about. This is a city you live." In this Detroit is Different episode, Joshua LaMere unpacks a cultural journey that spans from North Minneapolis to the heart of Highland Park, and what it means to truly fall in love with a city that keeps it real. “Detroiters don’t wait for a crisis to care,” he reflects, contrasting the stiff,...

"Are you gonna paint that, or feel that?" Sydney G. James drops that kind of heat in this no-holds-barred Detroit is Different conversation. She brings the stories behind the Blackout Walls, the politics of public art, and the legacy of Black family in Detroit into vivid focus. “People don’t understand—when I painted at MOCAD, folks walked in and said, ‘This feel like Grandma’s house.’ T...

“I had to unlearn the industry to remember my soul.” That’s the heartbeat of this Detroit is Different episode featuring Sarah Jane Mark—a fiber artist, educator, and spiritual architect of community healing. In this conversation, Sarah Jane shares her journey from the fast-paced fashion world of Los Angeles to the soulful streets of Detroit, where she co-founded Neighborhood Art School and Selah...

"‘Don’t send me home—I’m in pain.’ That’s what I told the ER doctor. If she hadn’t listened, I probably wouldn’t be here today." Lisa Whitmore Davis sits down in the Detroit is Different studio on Mother's Day and unpacks a journey that touches the soul and strikes a chord in every Detroit family. From her upbringing in Benton Harbor—"We were the only Whitmores in the phone book&quo...

"I used to think I had it all together—until I saw my own Facebook post saying I was studying in the library the same semester I failed every class." This brutally honest, powerful, and uplifting Detroit is Different episode features Shawntae Harris Mintline, Detroit Center Director for Grand Valley State University’s OMNI program, who shares her incredible story of resilience through ho...

"If you never lived in a beloved community, you'll never know what it's all about." In this powerful and personal episode of Detroit is Different, Coach Kellogg known on the ballot as Kevin Jones—steps into the studio not just as a lifelong Eastsider but as a griot of the neighborhood he loves and serves. From growing up on St. Aubin and Leland to organizing one of Detroit’s largest neig...

"You only sustain a business when your team feels like family and your customers feel like home." In this powerhouse episode of Detroit is Different, entrepreneur and Good Cakes and Bakes founder April Anderson returns to the studio to deliver game like only she can. From rocking Chadsey gear around the Northwestern representer, territory to diving deep into the ever-evolving landscape o...

“The breath is the spirit, and your diaphragm is the altar.” In this episode of Detroit is Different, Bryce Detroit opens the mic and the mind. From respiratory therapy to rap, ancestral stories from Lexington, Mississippi to Kinston, North Carolina to the East Side of Detroit, Bryce reveals the roots that shaped his revolutionary rhythm. “You know your breath ain't right when your shoulders rise—...

"You don't know Detroit 'til you know Vinewood!" In this deeply-rooted, powerful conversation, Victoria Camille takes us on a journey through generational migration, community transformation, and grassroots organizing. From her granddad “Kid Heney” the boxer at Joe Louis Arena, to growing up in River Rouge and Santa Rosa, to facing the harsh realities of returning to a declining Vinewood...

"Supporting your people isn’t always convenient—but it’s powerful.” That’s the gospel according to poet, author, and creator Shaun Moore-Bey. In this soul-stirring Detroit is Different episode, Shaun takes us on a journey from Conant Gardens to the Cass Tech classrooms, from Mississippi family reunions to standing-room-only poetry readings. “I was the nerd with a hundred X-Men toys, making up...

"I never ran for office thinking that I was going to be rich. I already knew. How did I know? Because your dad, my dad, we weren't poor as folks would like to say. Folks don't like to use the word poor anymore. But we weren't in poverty, or we weren't unfortunate in a lot of ways, but we weren't rich. We still had tough times." From family councils and tech legacies to state politics and...

"I sang before I could talk,” says Steffanie Christi’an, capturing the essence of a voice born in rhythm and raised on soul. In this powerful Detroit is Different interview, Steffanie weaves a narrative of musical lineage rooted in Southfield, church choirs, and impromptu jam sessions with her grandfather who taught her guitar and blues. She reflects on her time at Aisha Shule, calling it &qu...

“My grandmother taught me how to program when I was seven,” Bryan Campbell shares, setting the tone for a story that stretches from East Side Detroit roots to Silicon Valley boardrooms. In this powerful Detroit is Different interview, Bryan opens up about hacking school systems as a teenager, building websites for Michigan State before they even knew what email was, and becoming a key engineer beh...

“An abandoned house is not an abandoned house unless I see it as that.” In this soul-stirring Detroit is Different interview, Kim Sherobbi reflects on her lifelong commitment to community, tracing her purpose from childhood fashion shows on Bethune Street to founding the Birwood House as a space of radical love and collective leadership. Guided by a lineage of powerful Black women like her grandmo...

“You can’t put love into a house you don’t own.” That one quote encapsulates the spirit of Ken Elkins’ journey, vision, and mission as founder of Renewed. In this powerful Detroit is Different interview, Ken speaks truth to the generational impact of housing instability, sharing how growing up in a series of rentals shaped his understanding of pride, permanence, and purpose. From his early days in...