Stateside Daily Archive

The United Auto Workers union will sit down this week to begin contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers: GM, Ford, and Stellantis. UAW president Shawn Fain isn’t holding back. The union is taking a tough tone. Today, we're talking about these contract negotiations in the age of electric vehicles. GUESTS: Kalea Hall , reporter, The Detroit News ___ Looking for more conversations from Sta...

Michigan’s Republican party has had some struggles In the post-Trump era, from disagreements over leadership, to physical altercations , to changes in opinions from voters. Two politics reporters joined Stateside to talk about the future of the party, and the way Republican voters are thinking about their ballot in 2024. GUESTS: Craig Mauger , state politics reporter, The Detroit News Jordyn Herma...

Middle school is a notoriously difficult time to be a kid. Growing pains and hormones - need we say more? Detroit-based author Jack Cheng tackles these tumultuous middle school years in his new young adult novel, The Many Masks of Andy Zhou. Today, we’re talking to Jack Cheng about his novel, growing up Chinese American in Detroit, plus the good, the bad and the ugly of middle school. GUEST:  Jack...

This summer, we're spending time at restaurants that have fed Michiganders over generations. Today we're at the Washtenaw Dairy, just down the street from our studios where team Stateside can sometimes be found having a cooldown on hot summer days. This is a small historic storefront dating back to the 1930s. A place where people park themselves on the benches to enjoy ice cream cones, sundaes and...

By now most people know that exposure to lead is harmful. However, back in the 1800s not so much. Then on July 9th, 1978 a chemistry professor announced the results of his research and warned that lead must be removed from all consumers products. It took a century before decision makers took full action. The Michigan History Center's Rachel Clark explains how Professor Robert Kedzie sounded the le...

Last week, the US Supreme Court published their decision on Creative 303 LLC v. Elenis. Referencing the First Amendment, they held that there is a constitutional right to discriminate against customers based on their sexuality. In Michigan, legislators signed LGBTQ+ civil rights protections into law last March in the expanded Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. So how does this new Supreme Court deci...

Al Hadiqa, a new installation on the rooftop of the Arab American National Museum, consists entirely of plants, seeds, and cuttings donated by the local Arab American community. We pay a visit to the garden on the day of its grand opening, and hear from some donors about their relationship with gardening as an act of memory, cultural preservation, and self-care. GUESTS:  Shatha Najim , community h...

It’s another bad air day here in Michigan. If you haven’t already, check out our podcast episode from June 7th for information on how to stay safe during days like today. But today we want to talk about another part of the wildfire story: weather. GUEST: Jeff Andresen,   state climatologist for Michigan ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear o...

Stateside's Studio Visits introduces you to artists across Michigan – and their workspaces. When you spend time where artists work, you can pick up a lot about what makes them tick, and what shapes their creative process. In this episode, we take you to the west side of the state to meet an artist who uses glass to make sense of our changing cities. GUEST: Norwood Viviano, Michigan Radio reporter...

The landmark Dobbs ruling overturned nearly 50 years of protections offered by Roe v. Wade , and created a patchwork of abortion access and barriers across the US. But in Michigan, we’ve seen a surge of out-of-state patients coming here for abortions. We're looking at how the number of out of state patients tripled in Michigan a year after the fall of Roe . GUEST: Kate Wells, Michigan Radio report...

Enbridge’s Line 5 crude oil and natural gas pipeline is at the center of a long and bitter struggle. This month, a WI federal judge ordered Enbridge to shut down the stretch that crosses over tribal land. Today we hear two perspectives on what this new decision means.  GUEST: Robert Houle , council secretary of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Paul Eberth , Enbridge director of tribal...

For the first time since the pandemic, Medicaid beneficiaries are being asked this year to re-verify their eligibility. Millions of people could loose their health insurance across the country. Today, the so-called Medicaid "unwinding", and what it can mean for you and your family. GUESTS: Becky McIntyre , Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program Coordinator in the Upper Peninsula Meredith Bu...

Hospitals are seeing ongoing staffing shortages. But over the course of the pandemic, they've also seen rising profits. We talk about how and how much hospitals profited during the COVID–19 health emergency. GUEST: Matthew Miller , MLive reporter Read Miller’s stories here , here , and here . ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod,...

The COVID pandemic put a constant strain on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers. There were long hours, large patient loads, and a constantly changing virus. Now, COVID hospitalizations have eased, but many nurses say their working conditions have not improved. Some say they've only gotten worse. On today's episode, we’re digging into how staffing shortages at Michigan hospitals are push...

Water levels among the Great Lakes have fluctuated very, very drastically in the past decade. In 2013, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron saw an all-time low. Within the next seven years, all five lakes set record highs. Lake Ontario even did it twice, setting a record high lake level in 2017, and then breaking that record in 2019.  A hydrologist explains what over a hundred years of data can reveal abo...

Beaches are the best. But WHICH beaches are the best? We here in the Great Lakes State have strong feelings about our fine-sand pristine beaches. But host April Baer has thoughts about the majesty of the oceanside. She's wrong... but let's hear her out. It's a pod for all my baddest beaches.  GUESTS: Dustin Dwyer , West Michigander and Michigan Radio reporter Jo Latimore , aquatic ecologist and ou...

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the “hands free driving" bill into law on Wednesday, June 7, the second set of legislation in Michigan aimed at reducing distracted driving. The law bans drivers from using a phone for any reason, save for reporting a crime or in another emergency situation. No more checking your email at a red light, no holding your phone to your ear at a red light, no finding the jus...

In 2020, the American Library Association documented 156 attempts to ban or restrict library materials in the U.S. Two years later in 2022, that number spiked to 1,269.   A library law expert walks us through the materials review process, and what free speech looks like in the context of a library.  A reporter joins us to recap how the debate over book censorship has unfolded in Michigan. GUEST: ...

The wildfires raging in Canada right now are affecting air quality across the United States. Cities like New York and Detroit had air quality index (or AQI) scores throughout the day that put them on par with some of the highest levels of air pollution across the world. On this episode, we’re looking at the health effects of air pollution from wildfires–and what you can do to keep yourself healthy...

Update: Since we've published this podcast, the DNR has said that the Wilderness Trail Fire has been 100% contained. Over the weekend two wildfires made for road closures, evacuations, and other displacements for people in Crawford and Iosco Counties. Today, we’re talking about wildfires in Michigan and what you can do to prevent them. GUEST: Kerry Heckman,  public information officer, DNR Inciden...

At The Bomber Restaurant in Ypsilanti, you’ll find a classic spread of breakfast staples: biscuits slathered in warm gravy, peppered corned beef hash, and silver dollar pancakes piled with berries. It’s the kind of place where the same group of friends have frequented for the past twenty years. But unlike your average diner, the Bomber brings a formidable collection of mostly World War II era memo...

The West Michigan-born band The Accidentals are out with a new album called "Time Out." It's filled with lush harmonies and soulful lyrics, and makes for the perfect windows down, cross-country cruising soundtrack. The band collaborated with some of folk music’s most beloved songwriters to create the album. On this episode of the pod, we take a trip with the West Michigan band through the joys of...

Michigan has a population problem. So much so that Governor Whitmer focused her keynote speech this afternoon at the Mackinac Policy Conference on it. Today, we’re looking at Michigan's population problem, and some of the policy measures that could help reverse this trend. GUESTS: Sam Robinson, reporter at Axios Detroit Don Grimes , economist at the University of Michigan ___ Looking for more conv...

Last year, nearly 70,000 people reached out to the National Eating Disorders Association helpline. But late this spring the Association shut the helpline down…and added a chatbot instead. GUEST: Kate Wells , Michigan Radio reporter ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Se...

Besides lakes and summer tourism, northwest Michigan's towns have become known for something else: a lack of affordable housing.  GUESTS: Mike Rivard , board member, Sleeping Bear Gateways Council Bill Witler , board member, Sleeping Bear Gateways Council ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music fr...