Stateside Daily Archive

Detroit electronic artist and beatmaker Kevin Reynolds has been on the scene for almost two decades. This year he was able to transition to music full-time. The result has been a new album and another performance at Movement: Detroit's Electronic Music Festival. Kevin explained his musical process and reflected upon his zig-zagging musical journey.  Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? ...

SBAM just published a report detailing 120 different statistical measurements of what’s happening among the state’s small businesses. While many sectors of the economy seem to be shakier than they were pre-pandemic, entrepreneurship in Michigan still seems to be going strong. We break down the numbers, and revisit a few conversations we've had with entrepreneurs who have experienced the changes fi...

Janie Paul and her late husband Buzz Alexander spent decades fostering the artistic endeavors of incarcerated Michiganders through the Prison Creative Arts Project. On this episode, we talk to Janie about the transformative power of art for people living inside prison – which she explores in her new book about the stories of incarcerated artists.  GUEST:  Janie Paul, author of the new book Making...

Whatever image you have of a everyday Northern Michigan artist - maybe a landscape painter or lighthouse photographer - Rufus Snoddy is not that. The mixed media artist from Traverse City is inspired by his surroundings, but the result is vivid painted sculpture with pointed, searing, and thought-provoking social commentary. This visit to his studio is a continuation of our Studio Visits of visual...

Michigan is one of 12 states (plus D.C.) that permits "home equity theft," a practice which allows for a local government to foreclose on a house, and then sell it to a private company for profit while never compensating the original homeowners. GUESTS: Tawanda Hall , Michigan homeowner and plantiff Christina Martin , senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation ___ Looking for more conversatio...

Great Lakes Bee Company hosts one of Michigan's biggest bee-centric gatherings. Hundreds gather in Fremont, Michigan every May for Bee Pickup Day, where tens of thousands of bees are distributed among beekeepers from all over to bring home to their colonies. Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Radio's West Michigan reporter, attended the event to ask folks what they learn from observing the world's pollinators...

Marketing professor Marcus Collins' new book, "For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be," offers ways to define the amorphous thing we call "culture."  So often, when we interact with a culture we don't understand, "we rely on instinct [and] ego, we villainize them," Collins said. "For The Culture" not only offers definitions, but outlines the power of cultu...

Some Oxford community members are frustrated by what they see as inadequate investigation into the school shooting at Oxford High School in November 2021. They want accountability and part of that is a third-party review of how exactly a school shooting happened. Read Anna Clark's original reporting here . GUEST: Anna Clark , Midwest reporter at ProPublica ___ Looking for more conversations from S...

We got some exciting news. One of our stories won the Asian American Journalists Association Excellence in Audio Storytelling, News Feature Award. So in celebration of this award and in celebration of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month, we're bringing you the story of Kinuko Yada DeVee. This story was inspired by Matt Schepeler’s article in the Brooklyn Exponent . ___ Looking for more conversat...

Joe Short, founder of Short's Brewing Co., has made loving what he does, and where he lives, one in the same by brewing some of Michigan's finest craft beers. We join him at his tap room in Bellaire, east of Torch Lake, in Northern Michigan. GUEST: Joe Short , Short's Brewing Co. Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider support...

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently ended its long-running frog and toad survey , much to the chagrin of the program's dedicated volunteers. The survey, which had been running for nearly three decades was the brainchild of Lori Sargent, who worked as a non-game wildlife biologist at the department for decades. Today on the pod, we hear about the story behind this popular citizen...

The infant mortality spiked during the pandemic. This reality is especially true for Black women in Detroit. State data shows that in 2021, the rate jumped to 18.1 deaths per 1000 live births. Today, why this is happening, and what can be done to make a change. GUEST: Nina Ignaczak , editor and founder  of Planet Detroit Jennifer Torres , manager of the Office of Women’s Health and Birth Equity __...

Take a trip with us up North. Stateside paid a visit to Sleder’s Family Tavern in downtown Traverse City. The owners say the establishment, founded in 1882, is the oldest continuously-running restaurant in Michigan. GUEST: Megan Cox , tavern co-owner ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music from Bl...

We’re going to continue this conversation about policing and mental health. We’ll hear about two police encounters during a mental health crisis, and we’ll share some mental health resources – that aren’t calling the  police. For more information on mental health resources, check out our website. ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the p...

Seven months ago, Detroit Police responded to a mental health call for a young Black man who had schizophrenia.  His name was Porter Burks.  Police shot him to death just minutes after arriving on the scene. This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened. And so we wanted to know, why was Porter Burks killed during a mental health call? ___ Looking for more conversations from Stat...

By the mid-20th century, mining and logging were still the dominant industries in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. But there was another burgeoning industry: women’s undergarments manufacturing. GUEST: Phyllis Wong , author ___ 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. See omnystudio....

Your suspicions are correct. There are, indeed, more urgent care centers in Michigan. In fact the number of locations have tripled since 2010. Detroit Free Press reporter, JC Reindl has been following the trend towards urgent care and found that the number of centers increased from 170 to 541 in 2022, according to the Urgent Care Association. Today, why urgent cares are popping up everywhere, and...

Author Angeline Boulley, author of the bestselling YA thriller Firekeeper's Daughter , is back with a new novel. Warrior Girl Unearthed features a young Ojibwe teen in the U.P. caught up in a complex web of murder and theft, politics, and culture. GUEST: Angeline Boulley , writer ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supp...

Former Michigan State Representative Rick Johnson has pleaded guilty in one of the biggest state capitol-level public corruption scandals in decades.  Federal court filings allege that Johnson accepted tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists to help clients earn medical marijuana licenses. Johnson was serving as chairman of Michigan's marijuana licensing board at the time. Among the license re...

Chef Hajime Sato, owner of Sozai in Clawson, Michigan, was recently nominated for a James Beard Award in the Outstanding Chef Category . At Sozai, he offers an omakase experience at the sushi bar, where the entire multi-course meal is chef's choice. Chef Sato is also one of the few chefs in the country serving sustainable sushi. He shares what omakase service looks like from his side of the bar, a...

The pandemic has taken a toll on many people’s mental health. That might go double for small kids, who saw their routines interrupted and their social interactions shrink to fit a screen. On today's episode, we talk about how mental health challenges are showing up in preschools and daycare settings--and the challenges that's creating for child care providers. GUESTS: Jennifer Brookland, Report fo...

Some might find the characters and textures featured in artist Matthew Osmon’s work to be a little bit unsettling. Some of his pandemic-era work focuses on goopy and stringy textures, parasitic creatures, and expressionless faces floating in liminal space. But the candy-toned color palettes make these works  weirdly inviting. Matthew Osmon is a Flint native, and chose to keep living and working he...

In the wake of major mass shootings in Michigan, Democrats in control of the state Legislature have done something previous Legislative sessions have not: address gun violence through policy changes. Livingston County Sheriff called a recent red flag bill "unconstitutional." So what does it mean when an elected official says they might ignore state law? GUEST: Jon King , journalist ___ Looking for...

Meet cartoonist, Barbara Brandon-Croft, whose work was first featured in The Detroit Free Press in 1989. Her comic strip “Where I’m Coming From” ran until 2005. GUEST: Barbara Brandon-Croft , cartoonist Marty Claus , former, editor at The Detroit Free Press ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music...

There is nothing like the first days of spring to remind you that humans are animals too. The first warm days of 2023 brought turtles and rabbits out of their winter hiding places–along with flocks of humans in shorts and t-shirts. And, of course, one of our favorite spring arrivals: THE BIRDS. Today, we’re talking about how to slow down and notice nature waking up again. GUEST: April Campbell, re...