Stateside Daily Archive

Over the past 20 years, roller derby has seen a major revival across the country. The modern derby era – which got rolling around 2000 in Austin, Texas – is a far cry from the ultra-staged smackdowns of the 80s, or the flame-and-fade derby of the 50s. Now, many major cities now boost their own derby leagues--including Detroit. Stateside intern Ellie Katz headed to one of the Detroit Roller Derby l...

The opportunity for revival of an established Spanish-language paper in Southwest Detroit came up when the paper recently changed hands. Our guests today talk to us about what mainstream news doesn’t get about Spanish-speaking readers and audiences and what they’re doing to shine lights on community news – in both Spanish and English. GUESTS: Martina Guzman, founder and director of the Race and Ju...

Jenn White is the host of the NPR midday news show, 1A. Born and raised in Detroit, White worked in public TV before becoming the local anchor of All Things Considered at Michigan Radio - the very station that brings you this podcast. Today on the podcast, a live conversation with Jenn White about her Michigan roots, covering difficult news, and the importance of treats. GUEST: Jenn White , host o...

President Biden delivered the State of the Union Address last night to an audience of Congress members, some of whom were very vocal throughout the speech. You've likely seen the viral moments of the President going to head-to-head with Republican representatives, but there were some moments of bipartisan unity. Freshman Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Democrat representing Michigan's 3rd Congressional D...

About 150 years ago, a young nation fresh off its first Civil War was trying to find itself - amid famine, disease, societal breakdown. Our school books talk about this period as the Reconstruction. Wayne State University scholar Kidada Williams refers to the period in different terms in her new book, I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction. GUEST: Ki...

Kids and Marvel super fans alike have a new animated television series to look forward to: "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur," which is set to release this week on Disney. The show revolves around Lunella Lafayette, a 13-year-old genius-turned-superhero protecting the Lower East Side of New York with her crime-fighting dinosaur partner. The character is Marvel’s first Black girl superhero to star in h...

Michelin star chef Iliana Regan decided to leave behind the buzzing Chicago culinary scene for a quieter life, she found solace in the woods of the Upper Peninsula. Regan has documented her new, slower-paced life in the book Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir. GUEST: Iliana Regan , chef and author ____ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the pod,...

Today, a charged debate that's gaining more traction in Michigan: are electric vehicle drivers paying their fair share of road use taxes? Plus, a look at how industry giants like Ford are taking financial losses now in hopes of stealing some EV market share from Tesla down the road. GUESTS: Lester Graham , reporter, The Environment Report Phoebe Wall Howard , automotive reporter, Detroit Free Pres...

Twelve people have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Dr. Zvi Levran, a urologist who provided medical services to a number of high school and youth all-star hockey teams in both Michigan and Minnesota. On this episode, we talked to reporter Katie Strang, with The Athletic , about the allegations against Zvi Levran, and how it ties into other instances of physician mis...

The past three years have been a particularly scary time for people of Asian descent. Two University of Michigan researchers have been trying to find out if the rise in anti-Asian sentiment has had other, more hidden economic effects. Ones that you might not see in national headlines, but still damage Asian-American livelihoods.  GUEST ON TODAY'S SHOW: Justin Huang, assistant professor of marketin...

When it comes to streaming services, you’ve got a lot to choose from these days. From the giants like Netflix, Hulu, HBO to smaller platforms catering to a more niche audience. The platform Tubi has become a go-to for fans and producers of independent Black cinema. And it's not just L.A. or New York creators cashing in on the chance to put their work in front of an online audience. There's a sizab...

The next great Americana singer/songwriter could be not from Tennessee, not from the Carolinas, but from Southwest Michigan. Myron Elkins is an Allegan County native. His debut album, “Factories, Farms, and Amphetamines” is an ode to the Midwest, and every track carries the very grit and authenticity that’s characteristic of rural Michigan life.  GUEST ON TODAY'S SHOW: Myron Elkins , musician ____...

Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her fifth State of the State address last night. It’s the first of her second term as governor, and her first in-person address in three years, due to COVID. It was also an opportunity to make her priorities known working with a Democratic majority in the Legislature. Today, we’re recapping what we heard from Gov. Whitmer. GUESTS: Colin Jackson , Michigan Public...

Michigan's Upper Peninsula can get buried in snow during the winter. Some simply thank Mother Nature. Others use meteorology to explain it all. But to some members of the Finnish-American community in the Hancock area, the snow is because of Heikki Lunta. Legend has it, the mystical man's dancing has the power to summon snowstorms. Hilary-Joy Virtanen wrote her master's thesis on the the legend of...

Lyndsay Green is a dining and restaurant critic for the Detroit Free Press, and the first Black person at the publication to hold that role. She finds that a lot of people in the restaurant world don’t expect to see her. Green recently commemorated her first year at the Free Press by writing about her year in review.  The essay , which documents her experience in the food industry as a 4’10” Black...

In April 2020, Gov. Whitmer assembled a taskforce to target biases and barriers that have long prevented racial minorities from receiving adequate medical care; something that was made abundantly clear during the early weeks of the pandemic. The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities was called to identify and help reduce the disparities in COVID cases. GUESTS: Dr. Phil Levy , Assoc...

Tapestry in Black is a new podcast that gives Black Michiganders a space to share their experiences in their own words. Each episode of the show is a new story, told from the perspective of someone who lived it. Season 1 features tales from the Civil Rights era from the 1960s to the early 70s. GUEST: Khaliph Young , Tapestry in Black director ____ Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Ri...

There's a lot to think about when you're at the grocery store: your meal plans, your taste, your budget. But what about your plastic bag consumption? Today on the show, one artist’s cheeky take on the problem of single use plastics through art. And then, the Democratic effort to reverse the state's ban on local plastic bag bans. GUESTS:  Robin Frohardt , Brooklyn-based artist and filmmaker State S...

This last weekend, nine candidates vying for Michigan Republican Party Chair took part in a forum in Midland. All nine endorsed false claims that the last two elections had fraudulent outcomes. Among the candidates for the top spot are some failed nominees for statewide office, including former attorney general nominee Matt DePerno and former secretary of state nominee Kristina Karamo. Craig Mauge...

At the age of 15, Leslie King was sex trafficked in Grand Rapids. For 20 years, she endured sexual exploitation, violence, and drug addiction, until finally escaping in the summer of 2000. Today, King runs an outreach organization in Grand Rapids called Sacred Beginnings . Its mission is to connect with others who may be victims of sex trafficking, and provide them with supplies and support.  Afte...

Two months before Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, tens of thousands gathered to watch him speak in Detroit — a city that’s home to so many Black activists, artists, and entrepreneurs.  Since then, it hasn’t all been easy for Black Detroiters, but the elections of Mayor Coleman A. Young, and Congressman John Conyers brought forward a new era...

Remember video rental stores? We went to one of the last ones in Michigan. _______ Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Additional music by  Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Cheers!" has been a longstanding Stateside feature, and now co-hosts Tammy Coxen and Lester Graham have prepped their last call. After 100 drinks from the mixology team, they'll wrap up their run in February. Today, we toast them! GUESTS: Lester Graham and Tammy Coxen are co-hosts of the radio series "Cheers!" and co-authors of the book Cheers to Michigan: A Celebration of Cocktail Culture and Cr...

In Ottawa County - in West Michigan, a slate of nine new commissioners just took office. In their first meeting on January 3rd, they made some sweeping changes to county operations. Not everybody was happy about it. Today on the pod, a new kind of Republican takes control in reliably red Ottawa County.  GUEST: Dustin Dwyer , Michigan Radio's West Michigan reporter  Looking for more conversations f...

French documentary filmmaker Dorian Degoutte couldn't bare dumping his 1997 Ford Fiesta. So instead he took took his car from France for one last journey to where it all began: Detroit. Read the original article here . GUEST: Dorian Degoutte,  filmmaker Phoebe Wall Howard,  reporter at the Detroit Free Press _______ Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way. If you like what y...