Stateside Daily Archive

A group of teens are changing the theater landscape in Detroit. But they're not reinventing the wheel — instead they're building off of the Mexican Carpas theater tradition to create whimsical, bilingual performances. The group is called La Carpa Theatre and is run by artist Karilú Alarcón Forshee. GUESTS: Karilú Alarcón Forshee , creator of La Carpa Theatre Gabriel Rodriguez , performer —— Lookin...

This week, Detroit singer and songwriter Lamont Dozier passed away at age 81. Dozier helped write and produce countless hit records during his career. His work played a huge roll in Mowtown's success, and in the dominance of Black music on pop radio. Ann Delisi, host of Essential Music from WDET, joins the show to discuss the lasting impact of this Mowtown icon. GUESTS: Ann Delisi , host, Essentia...

The family that screams together stays together. At least, that's the case with James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca, a husband and wife duo that runs the horror-centric YouTube channel and podcast, Dead Meat. GUESTS: James A. Janisse , host of the YouTube channel and podcast Dead Meat Chelsea Rebecca, host of the YouTube channel and podcast Dead Meat —— Looking for more conversations from Statesi...

Michigan's attorney general, Dana Nessel's office has been investigating allegations that some Republicans seized voting machines in 2020. Their goal was to “test" if any deficiencies could validate their conspiracy that Donald Trump actually won Michigan's 2020 presidential vote. But last night, Nessel dropped some pretty big news: One of the people involved in the alleged conspiracy is set to be...

It was a big week in Michigan politics. A panel of guests join guest host Zoe Clark for a look at the results of the primary elections, and what they tell us as we head into the general election. GUESTS: Emily Lawler , politics editor, Detroit Free Press Greg Bowens , founder, Bowens and Co. John Truscott , founder, Truscott Rossman Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . I...

Many communities along about 100 miles of the Huron River are on high alert this week. A manufacturing company in Wixom called Tribar told state environmental authorities it released hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical, into the river.  GUEST: Garret Ellison , environment reporter, MLive You can read Garret's reporting here . Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way . If you...

The road ahead for GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon is not an easy one. We broke down what it will take for her to compete with a well-funded incumbent. Plus, Republican Congressman Peter Meijer (MI-3) lost his primary race—after being one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. What does that tell us about the political winds in West Michigan?  GUESTS: Ri...

Today is Primary Election Day in Michigan. The people who make sure that elections go to plan are our county clerks. Today, we’re going to check in with two county clerks – a Democrat and a Republican –  about how today’s primary process is shaping up, and how their jobs are shifting in a contentious political era.  GUESTS:  Barb Byrum , Ingham County clerk Justin Roebuck , Ottawa County clerk ---...

Since May, a state Court of Claims order has blocked the enforcement of a 1931 abortion ban in Michigan. However, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the order does not apply to county prosecutors. As soon as three weeks from now, county prosecutors can begin filing criminal charges against abortion providers. We talk to Rick Pluta, Capitol Bureau Chief for the Michigan Public Ra...

Detroit’s Plowshares Theatre Company is finally back onstage after two years of pandemic isolation. The play they chose is not only a world premier; it's also a story specially created for this company, this audience, and this year. We speak with the writer and composer of the musical, "set on the cusp of change in Detroit:" Hastings Street . And we hear from the director of Plowshares about the c...

It’s not a small task unseating an incumbent from Congress in a midterm election. But there’s a special class of Republicans in the crosshairs this primary season: people who voted to impeach Donald Trump after January 6th. Michigan’s Peter Meijer, who represents the state's 3rd District, is in that club. Today, we talk to a political reporter about Meijer's chances--and about the Trump-endorsed n...

On August 2, Michigan voters will determine which Republican candidate will face Governor Gretchen Whitmer in the general election. With no clear front-runner, however, the race is close, and the candidates are using the final days to try and swing more voters to their side. Jonathan Oosting from Bridge Michigan and Michigan Radio's own Zoe Clark discussed the race so far, and what can be expected...

Today we get answers to some of your COVID questions. We talk to an epidemiologist about variants, vaccines, and reinfections. GUEST: Emily Martin,  professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health and epidemiologist   Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Stateside’s theme music is by 14...

San Diego Comic-Con is kind of like the Nerd Oscars: very glitzy with stars of top-grossing comics-based movies and awards galore. The Eisner Awards are the highest honor in comics. This year's winner of the Eisner for Best Comic-related Book is Michigan-born writer and critic Douglas Wolk. Last year Wolk consumed some twenty-seven-thousand comic books — the entirety of Marvel Comics’ output spann...

Michigan is blessed to be surrounded by some of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world. The Great Lakes are a spectacular beauty. Simultaneously, they are large bodies of water that, in the right conditions, can be very dangerous. Recently there have been a series of drownings on the west side of the state, causing Grand Haven State Park to institute new double red flags, which mean no swim...

There are two members of the Detroit Public Television Great Lakes Now program who moonlight as sailors. This last week, Sandra Svoboda and Ward Detwiler took part in the Bayview to Mackinac race. While they were on different boats, going at different speeds, they both finished up this week and talked with Stateside about the experience and to talk about the sport of sailing. GUESTS: Sandra Svobod...

Advocates worked on a ballot initiative in 2018 to increase Michigan’s minimum wage and codify other protections. The Republican-controlled legislature voted to approve the increase, but later altered the plan amid the chaos of the lame-duck session, essentially weakening the intent of the law. The Court of Claims recently ruled this "adopt and amend" move to be unconstitutional. But this four-yea...

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision is making waves in law enforcement circles. The case— Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta —concerns who prosecutes crimes committed on tribal land when non-Native American suspects are involved.   Today on the pod, we'll talk about what this case means for tribal sovereignty here in Michigan. As you’ll hear, things just got a lot more complicated. GUESTS: Jocelyn Fabry,...

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently signed an executive order on Wednesday to prevent Michigan’s law enforcement from helping prosecute people who come from out-of-state to receive an abortion. Barbara McQuade, a former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and current professor of law at the University of Michigan, discusses why the new laws on abortion represent a challenge to the way sta...

Grand Rapidian Steve Jessmore won the Audubon national professional photography award for the second year in a row. This time for his picture of northern shoveler ducks titled "Feeding Frenzy". Jessmore spent a career as a photojournalist, most recently with the Flint Journal . But it's his turn with nature photography that's launched him in recent years.  GUEST: Steve Jessmore , photographer, win...

It's no secret that websites and apps track your data, including those you may use to track your period and other reproductive information. While this data is often used for targeted ads to sell you goods and services, the end to the constitutional right to abortion has made privacy experts concerned about surveillance as well. While abortion is still legal in Michigan, experts suggest people take...

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the state of Michigan, shares what you need to know about the new omicron BA.5 subvariant, as well as the best practices for protecting against COVID-19 throughout this summer. GUEST: Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian , Chief Medical Executive for Michigan —— Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way . If you like what you hear on the...

In West Virginia v EPA , the Supreme Court limited the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Today we want to find out more about the case, and how it could dampen multi-state plans to stop pollution in the Great Lakes.  GUESTS: Nick Leonard , Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center Nick Schroeck , Associate Dean at the University of Detroit...

Over 753,000 signatures were submitted today for a petition to put the question of abortion rights on the November ballot. If they're verified, voters will have the opportunity to plant reproductive rights squarely in Michigan’s Constitution. How might this affect the upcoming election? GUESTS: Loren Khogali, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, and a R...

You have your campsite reserved. What now? The food! What will you eat? Freelance food writer Alex Beggs has you covered. Today's episode is a rerun. GUESTS: Alex Beggs, Michigan-based food writer —— 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 is by  Blue Dot Sessions. See omnystudio.c...