ML Soul of Detroit

Tresa Baldas had a front-row seat for the Jennifer Crumbley trial and joins ML, Marc and Shawn to share her insights on an unprecedented case. STRAIGHT DOPE- Our first ever bonus episode is now available! You can see and hear it by becoming a Patreon member. For as little as $5 a month, you can enjoy benefits like ad-free episodes and video of the show. For $15 a month, you get the bonus episode....

Gadfly Robert Davis exposed the Highland Park treasurer for being a deadbeat and explains to ML, Marc and Shawn how he got on the case – and got a judge to take action. STRAIGHT DOPE- Our first ever bonus episode is now available! You can see and hear it by becoming a Patreon member. For as little as $5 a month, you can enjoy benefits like ad-free episodes and video of the show. For $15 a month, y...

Kwame Kilpatrick has a big new SUV along with his new house, the Lions finally lose a big game, and Shawn zooms in while ML and Marc try desperately to revive their partner as he struggles with his travel-related travails. STRAIGHT DOPE- Our first ever bonus episode is about to post, but you can only hear and see it if you’re a Patreon member. For as little as $5 a month, you can enjoy benefits li...

Kwame Kilpatrick has a big new house, Ethan Crumbley’s mom goes on trial, sex parties near the Manoogian Mansion and Shawn chills at home while ML bores Marc with the origin story of New Hampshire’s First-in-the-Nation presidential primary. STRAIGHT DOPE: Our Patreon membership program is LIVE, so you can join up and enjoy benefits like ad-free episodes, video of the show, a bonus episode, free sw...

Shawn tells more tawdry tales from his Texas college days, while ML trips out on “Shen Yun” and Marc tries to maintain. STRAIGHT DOPE: Our Patreon membership program is LIVE, so you can join up and enjoy benefits like ad-free episodes, video of the show, a bonus episode, free swag and exclusive merchandise. Sign up here . Since online ads are usually driven by your browsing habits, ML can’t figure...

Houston, we have a problem – Marc’s flight was cancelled, Shawn is sick and ML is recovering from Washington’s heart-breaking loss in the college football national championship game to the … Michigan Wolverines. STRAIGHT DOPE: Our Patreon membership program is LIVE, so you can join up and enjoy benefits like ad-free episodes, video of the show, free swag and exclusive merchandise. Sign up here: ht...

The Lions get jobbed, the Wolverines come up roses and ML acknowledges Jim Harbaugh is the man, while Marc and Shawn talk about what it was like to watch the games at home and in person. STRAIGHT DOPE: Our Patreon account is finally open so YOU can easily sponsor the show and win fabulous prizes! Check out the different sponsorship levels and incentives by visiting. Reluctantly, ML acknowledges Ji...

Happy New Year! ML rolls out some New Wave holiday songs, good and bad, to ring in 2022. THE STRAIGHT DOPE: If you’re sick of the same tired ol’ Christmas music that has been playing on the radio since Halloween, you’ll love our special all-music episode. From borderline NuWave group Elastica to synth pop Gods Erasure to kitschy and clever They Might Be Giants to genre chewing Sonic Youth to golde...

You’ve got questions, Erika Erickson, ML, Marc and Shawn have answers in this holiday edition of our occasional “Ask the Soul of Detroit” feature. STRAIGHT DOPE: Marc likes to keep it simple when he’s Christmas shopping, so don’t be offended if he gives you his favorite gift: Cash. Erika and Shawn weigh in, while ML says Marc’s idea reminds him of what Elaine said to Jerry Seinfeld when he gifted...

Newswoman Erika Erickson and newsmaker Christine Beatty dominate the conversation with ML, Marc and Shawn. Erika is in studio while Beatty – who refuses to speak with ML – appears only in sound bites. STRAIGHT DOPE: Shawn starts the show off with a story about spilt soup. Seriously. (It was split pea.) Two women who have been out of the public eye dominate this week’s episode: Former Fox 2 reporte...

Strange but true stories and a Kwame Kilpatrick tale mined from a sentencing memorandum dominate this week's discussion as new Employee of the Month Shawn zooms in to regale ML and Marc with some fresh yarns. STRAIGHT DOPE: Most folks say they hate to say "I told you so," but ML ain't most people. So he cues up Detroit Lion Spiderman Allen's version of "Another One Bites the Dust" and points out t...

When we say it’s a game, they say it’s a business. When we say it’s a business, they say it’s a game. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports joins ML, Marc and Shawn to discuss the latest controversy in college sports. STRAIGHT DOPE: Almost everyone has been pulled over by the police. But few of us have had the kind of traffic stop a Lapeer man describes in a lawsuit against the Warren Police Department that...

A lawyer for one of Ethan Crumbley’s parents may join them in jail, Shawn is standing on his head and ML and Marc ask Intern Al to help them make sense of it all. STRAIGHT DOPE: LIMITED TIME ONLY! Get your exclusive ML Soul of Detroit merchandise in time for the holidays! But act fast, because the online sale ends 11/29 at 8 p.m. Shop here. ML, like the Smiths, is “Still Ill,” but he took the Z Pa...

Kwame Kilpatrick once said we “done set him up for a comeback,” and now that he’s poised to come back, ML is telling some exclusive new tales about how Hizzoner is living large, while Shawn complains and Marc maintains. STRAIGHT DOPE: LIMITED TIME ONLY! Get your exclusive ML Soul of Detroit merchandise in time for the holidays! But act fast, because the online sale ends 11/29 at 8 p.m. Shop here....

A beef between ML and a state lawmaker goes from X to the podcast, where Marc sides with state Rep. Phil Skaggs on the University of Michigan’s beef with the Big Ten before Shawn dials in from L.A. where he had a strange encounter with abandoned clothing. STRAIGHT DOPE: ML’s called state lawmakers chickens for failing to pass stronger financial disclosure legislation that would allow us to see whe...

Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel, an expert on the Michigan Wolverines sign-stealing scandal, tells ML, Marc and Shawn what went wrong and why all the coaches complaining about it aren’t as innocent as they would have us believe. STRAIGHT DOPE: Sophisticated as always, ML and Marc revisit their discussion about whether Michigan Wolverines sign stealer and spy master Connor Stalions is a good porn name. Da...

Matthew Perry’s sudden death prompts ML, Marc and Shawn to invite Tresa Baldas to discuss what she learned from reading “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” STRAIGHT DOPE: ML starts off with some updates: the whereabouts of Joe Zuver, the suspension of the video version of the podcast, and what is being done to make the show bigger, better and, yes, less than free for supporters who want...

Charlie LeDuff makes good and bad headlines, but doesn’t duck the tough questions when he connects with ML and Shawn over his latest scoop and the ensuing controversy that cost him his Detroit News job, while Joe quietly puts in his last day. STRAIGHT DOPE: Charlie is sorry for a social media post that cost him his job as a Detroit News columnist, but the apology he shares with ML and Shawn aren’t...

Eli Zaret joins ML and Marc to talk about The Big Game until Shawn, like the blimp in “Black Sunday,” hijacks the show to rave (and rant) about the Detroit Lions, while Joe waves his pom-poms. STRAIGHT DOPE: Eli debates whether it’s too soon to make Mel Tucker jokes … then tries out some Mel Tucker jokes. A day before Eli hosts the Detroit Sports Media Association’s annual Michigan Wolverines-Mich...

Rock star, professor and author Rik Emmett of Triumph lays it on the line with ML, Marc and Shawn while Joe fights the good fight. Emmett discusses his career, his new biography, and his experiences in the music industry. He also shares his thoughts on the current state of the music industry and the importance of staying true to oneself. STRAIGHT DOPE: It's the same old story all over again -- ML...

Call him “Walter (Green and) White.” At least that’s how ML and Marc refer to the MSU adjunct professor of kinesiology who students discovered had some problems with meth charges in Louisiana, making Joe more grateful than ever to be a WSU grad. STRAIGHT DOPE: As YouTube subscribers can attest, Shawn’s empty chair fills in admirably for Shawn, bringing roughly the same amount of energy with fewer...

Old dads, athletes with the blues, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, pretty much everything is on the table as ML, Marc and Shawn offer answers to the world's problems, while Joe only wonders "When will it end?!?" STRAIGHT DOPE: ML's first choice for Michigan State's next football coach is a fictional character who, like ML, believes sports should teach about life, not teach that sports are life. Lis...

USA Today investigative reporter Kenny Jacobs zooms in to tell ML and Marc how he got the scoop that cost Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker his job, while Shawn is mired in traffic and Joe nimbly navigates the internet. STRAIGHT DOPE: Kenny Jacobs rocked East Lansing a week ago when he revealed that a sexual assault survivor accused Mel Tucker of masturbating without her consent during...

Scandal in East Lansing. What else is new? ML, Marc and Shawn chop it up, while Joe remains the master of his domain. STRAIGHT DOPE: ML starts with an update on the college football coach from Michigan who is on suspension – and it’s not who you might think. ML is ready to rebrand after years of saying: “You can’t spell ‘MeL’ without ‘ML.’” Now that the “S” in “MSU” stands for “Scandal,” ML offers...

An escape artist dog adopts a bunch of codgers, and John Carlisle tells ML, Marc and Shawn the inside story, while Joe tries to tunnel out. STRAIGHT DOPE: ML apologizes for questioning Keon Coleman’s transfer from Michigan State to Florida State after his stellar performance in college football’s first weekend. Shawn still isn’t satisfied. Don’t bury Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan – he’s not dead yet!...