Stateside Daily Archive

For decades, many Michigan farmers have relied on the herbicide Roundup for weed control. But the federal government has two conflicting policies that may affect whether they can continue to use this highly effective - and dangerous - product. At issue is Roundup’s active ingredient – glyphosate. Environmental Reporter Keith Schneider is senior editor and chief correspondent at Circle...

A deep dive into the history of contamination by the Gelman plume in Ann Arbor. We hear about how it started, its impacts to water and human health, and what's being done about it today.  Michigan Public's Elinor Epperson dug deep into the history of the Gelman plume. Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our...

It's festival season! As Detroiters prepare for Movement this weekend, we revisit a conversation with the festival's founder, DJ Carl Craig .  Read the original story here. Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Carl Craig. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan closed four clinics this year. Kate Wells , health reporter for Michigan Public, explained why operational costs and the loss of Title X funding may be the biggest threat to abortion access. She also discussed the role telehealth services have played in changing the reproductive care landscape, particularly in rural areas. Looking for more conversations from Statesid...

Malcolm X would have turned 100 years old today. We revisit a series of conversations about why Americans so often overlook Malcolm X when it comes to Black History Month celebrations and formal education spaces.  GUEST: Ven Johnson, the attorney representing flood victims in Gladwin, Midland, and Saginaw counties, is involved in a lawsuit accusing the state of intentionally delaying the lega...

Malcolm X would have turned 100 years old today. We revisit a series of conversations about why Americans so often overlook Malcolm X when it comes to Black History Month celebrations and formal education spaces.  GUESTS: John Aerni-Flessner , associate professor for the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University Kidada Williams , associate professor of Africa...

When Rachel Blistein couldn't find hair products that worked for her curly texture, she took matters into her own hands. Mixing formulas in her kitchen, she launched Original Moxie. It’s a hair care company rooted in Ypsilanti, Michigan, focused on sustainability while celebrating diverse hair types. In addition to the non-toxic and environmentally friendly ingredients, Blisten decided to di...

If you have little kids under ten who tune to PBS on a regular basis – its likely you know about Wimee’s Words . The PBS children’s show that reaches 30 million homes around the country is originally from Grand Rapids. It features Wimee the Robot, an animated puppet, who teaches kids about science, technology, engineering, art and math. GUESTS: Michael Hyacinthe,  creator, W...

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Five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of raping and brutally assaulting a white woman in 1989. The boys’ legal case gripped and divided the nation, and symbolized systemic injustices within the legal system for communities of color. All five men were exonerated over a decade later. Detroit Opera brings the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera The Central Park Five to audiences on...

Jeffrey Seller is one of the biggest Broadway producers. Beyond ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Rent,’ Seller’s work has grossed billions of dollars. The 60-year-old Tony award winner is nothing short of a living Broadway legend. But before the spotlight, Seller was another Michigan theatre kid – an outsider everywhere but school play rehearsals. Seller's new memoir, Theater Ki...

Ever feel the need to get away?  Perhaps, to a galaxy far, far away? Michiganders did just this past May the 4th. Every year for two weekends a warehouse in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood gets converted into a Star Wars universe. A small army of do-it-yourself artists, makers, and fun-seekers transform a half-block of space into, well, outerspace. The detail is otherworldly &...

A mistrial was declared when a jury in Grand Rapids failed to reach consensus on the conviction or acquittal of Christopher Schurr, the police officer who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya.  GUESTS: Dustin Dwyer , Michigan Public Michelle Jokisch Polo , Michigan Public   To listen to full episodes of Stateside, head over here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ann Arbor Writer Michelle Yang came to the states as a child, after growing up in a Chinese family in South Korea. Her debut Memoir, Phoenix Girl: How a Fat Asian with Bipolar Found Love , is a warm, engrossing story of becoming unmoored, and finding connection and community, even as she’s fighting with fierce cultural pressures about her own body image and identity as a woman. GUESTS: Miche...

Students at East Kentwood High School interviewed their family members about their immigration stories in a project marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. They will be sharing those stories this week at events celebrating West Michigan's Vietnamese American community.  GUESTS:  Le Tran, art teacher at East Kentwood High School Christina Le, junior at East Kentwood and one of...

A look back at Santa Ono's career in higher education thus far, and what's been particularly challenging about high education administration in the last several years.  GUESTS: David Jesse : senior writer, Chronicle of Higher Education Jamal Watson , PhD: editor of "Diverse: Issues in Higher Education," professor of Strategic Communication and Public Relations, Trinity Washington University L...

The Scarab Club has played an important role in Detroit’s arts and cultural scene for more than a century. But like many other Detroit arts lovers, the club’s new gallery director first stumbled into it by chance.  On today’s pod, we’re going to be talking to Scarab Club gallery manager Donna Jackson about her approach to community engagement–and the profound imp...

A new storytelling event in Grand Rapids called Unfiltered aims to bring people together through the sharing of experiences in and around the city. Similar to the format of  The Moth , Unfiltered features folks in and around Grand Rapids sharing stories about first loves, scary job interviews, weird interactions in grocery stores, make-or-break moments of adversity, and more. Storytellers are...

Back in September 2024, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged seven Pro-Palestinian protesters for allegedly defying orders from University of Michigan public safety officers. The individuals were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor, and for resisting arrest, a felony. In this episode we break down why the U-M Pro-Palestinian protestors want AG Nessel off the case.  GUEST:&nb...

We are a time and place in America where more children of Holocaust survivors are with us than survivors themselves. In some ways this is the lens through which many Americans understand how the Nazi regime murdered 6 million Jews in the 1930's and 40's. Sassa Akervall's mother survived the Holocaust. She shared part of her family's story in the book, The Ones Who Remember: Second-Generation...

Daria Burke ’s life wasn’t easy growing up. Her parents split up, and her mom struggled with grief and addiction, forcing Burke to take on adult responsibilities at a young age.  Years later, she became a marketing executive in the beauty industry. Her hunger to understand her own mind led to a season of deep self-investigation, resulting in a new book, Of My Own Making: A Memoir...

Please take a moment to fill out our listener survey . Your feedback helps The Dish team make the show great! The Dish , Stateside's spinoff podcast for Michigan foodies, met up with Eric Kinsler-Holloway, the baker and businessman behind EK's Cheescakes. More than a decade ago, Kinsler-Holloway turned to baking as a way to rebuild his life after several run-ins with the law. He's since turned his...

West Michigan author and preacher Jeff Chu took the long way to the seminary. And once he got there, faith led him farther than he expected back out into the world. It all started with a compost pile on the seminary farm.  On this episode, we’ll talk to Chu about his new memoir–titled Good Soil: T he Education of an Accidental Farmhand –which details his journey into co...

President Donald Trump wants Michigan automobile manufacturers to move entire supply chains to the U.S. And he’s put steep tariffs on the automotive industry in an attempt to spur that change. But many of these manufacturers are taking a wait-and-see approach because of the administration's constantly changing policies, and the cost associated with moving production. After President Donald T...

Ecorse, about 15 minutes south of Detroit, is facing major financial challenges. The city could run out of cash by the end of this month. On this episode, we hear how Ecorse ended up here—and its options for digging itself back out. GUEST: Louis Aguilar, Wayne County reporter for the Detroit News  Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way . If you like what you hear...