Stateside Daily Archive

Maybe you’ve seen the phrase: monoclonal antibodies. It’s a treatment doctors use to keep their COVID-19 patients out of the hospital. Pharmaceutical companies are running more ads for them now, too. Just a few months ago, the Michigan’s state health department practically couldn’t give this stuff away. They even had to stash some of their surplus in a warehouse. Now the st...

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. So, we’re turning our attention to a Grand Rapids entrepreneur who says his business wouldn’t be what it is without his mom. What do they sell? Cannabis! Today, we’re talking Casey Kornoelje and his mom, Patti Kornoelje, on running a business during the pandemic, cannabis stigma, and the social equity program that made the store possible. GUESTS...

Almost from the start of the pandemic, Governor Whitmer came out swinging. She set up mask mandates and physical distancing recommendations. But this week she changed her tune, saying people can gather outside in groups of less than 100 without a mask. Why? This episode, we talk to a social scientist and a doctor about how COVID messaging works with anyone from student athletes to expectant mother...

Businesses across Michigan have succumbed to the pressures of the pandemic, with devastating consequences for workers and our economy. Today, one man who closed his businesses during the pandemic talks about why those who were sidelined still need our help. And we’ll also get a longterm perspective on the seismic changes shaping the state’s business ecology during the early stages of p...

A couple of months ago, the biggest vaccine problem for Michiganders was finding one. But now, the state faces an opposite challenge - finding people ready to sign up for the healthy supply of doses available. What does this mean for our ability to return to some kind of normal? Is herd immunity even possible anymore and what would it take to get there?  GUESTS:  Debra Furr-Holden, an as...

Michigan saw $16 billion in loans to businesses during the first two phases of federal Paycheck Protection Program lending. The Reveal Reporting Network analyzed five million of these PPP loans from 5,000 banks. What they found was that the winners and losers often fell along racial lines. On today’s episode, we talk to Michigan Radio reporters Nisa Khan and Tyler Scott about what the data s...

The US Census Bureau had a really hard time doing its work last year. Between COVID and natural disasters occurring across the country, the census process was delayed by months. But now the first data set of the 2020 Census is in. And for Michigan, the numbers are telling a story we’ve heard before. It's the fifth consecutive census in which we've lost a congressional seat. Today, what these...

It’s election year in Michigan’s largest city, and the Detroit City Council will soon look much different. Four councilmembers have announced they will not seek reelection. One of those is Raquel Castañeda-López, who represents the heavily Latino area of Southwest Detroit. Today on the podcast, we talk to Castañeda-López about passing the torch to a new gene...

There’s a new generation of tattoo artists making big changes in the industry. Many of them are people of color, LGBTQ, women, and non-binary folks. And these artists are working to make the tattoo shop a more inclusive place for people with all kinds of bodies. Ann Arbor tattoo artist Carrie Metz-Caporusso is doing that with their “roll flower” designs that are meant to compleme...

Michigan is leading the nation with a third surge of COVI-19 cases and hospitalizations. Though there have been some positive signs that the current surge is beginning to ebb, it’s still pretty dire in some area hospitals where patients have been much younger than in the first and second surges. At the same time, vaccinations continue at a good and steady pace in the state, though there are...

The lake sturgeon is the biggest and oldest fish in the Great Lakes. They’ve been around for millions of years, but their numbers have dwindled in the last century. That’s why state wildlife officials and sturgeon conservationists are calling for citizens to step up and protect adult lake sturgeon from poaching as the fish journey along the Black River back to their spawning grounds. S...

Last night the US Supreme Court published a pretty big decision. The court gave judges more discretion in sentencing really young offenders to life without parole. Today, we’re digging into what this decision means for Michigan and for "juvenile lifers" who are waiting for resentencing.  GUESTS: Deborah Labelle , Washington correspondent for the Detroit News Efren Paredes , Advocate for...

We like to hold up America’s wild spaces as equal playgrounds for all, but access to nature isn’t as universal as we’d like to think. Many people of color face major barriers to participating in outdoor activities like camping or hiking. Today on the podcast, we hear about some people that are trying to change that. GUESTS: Rhonda Smith, writer for Planet Detroit. You can find Rh...

Now that a jury has convicted Derek Chauvin on three counts for the death of George Floyd, are we in a different chapter of America’s conversation about police and use of force? Today, hear from activists from activists from Grand Rapids to Detroit, and we talk through what the verdict means with a couple of people who closely follow the legal and social forces in play. GUESTS: Tracey Brame,...

COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations in Michigan have been rapidly rising for weeks. The numbers are now nearing—and sometimes surpassing—those of the last two surges. A lot of Michiganders have been wondering how this happened in the state that was among the first to flatten the curve during the initial wave infections. There is an answer to that question. A reporting team publish...

When it comes to COVID-19 cases, it's not great anywhere in Michigan right now. But the Thumb region is in serious trouble, ranking among the hottest spots in the state for COVID infection rates.   Today we talk with Michigan Radio's Caroline Llanes about surges in the area. And we also speak to a nearby restaurant owner in St. Claire who made the decision to close dine-in service amid t...

This week President Joe Biden announced that US troops will exit Afghanistan by September 11th of this year. More than 66,000 Michiganders have served in the military since September 11th, 2001. Some of them, of course, signed up for the mission of going after Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. There are 68 of them from Michigan who died there. For everyone who worked and sacrificed, or lost family in Afgha...

Detroit-born poet Tommye Blount’s writing belongs somewhere in the realm of short films: vivid and fearless as it portrays human vulnerability, whether the threat is a fist or something much more intimate. In today's episode, we talk with Blount about growing up black and queer and how his head-on collisions with white America’s myth-making informed his newest collection. Fantasia for...

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and top state health officials are strongly recommending Michiganders take COVID-19 safety precautions like avoiding indoor dining and youth sports. But they’re not making you do these things, even though Michigan’s infection rates are higher than they’ve ever been. And to throw another wrench into the works, the state announced a pause this week on the...

The CDC and FDA have recommended a “pause” in the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine, after the company made a disclosure. Of the nearly 7 million people who’ve received the vaccine, six women experienced blood clots. The story has complicated the picture for a state that’s trying to vaccinate its way out of the latest COVID surge. But how long will this ripple effect...

Michigan is in a third surge of COVID-19 cases, with infection rates and hospitalizations still on the rise. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration is focusing its attention on vaccination efforts, rather than enacting new lockdown measures. But public health experts are warning that vaccines alone aren’t enough to get the state’s outbreak under control.   GUEST: Dr. Deb...

Today, Governor Whitmer announced that she is holding off on new restrictions, even as COVID-19 cases surge in the state. But Michigan isn't the only place with a rise in cases. We're also taking a look at how Windsor in Canada has been managing this moment. Suffice to say, it's a different approach. GUESTS: Rick Pluta , Capitol Bureau Chief for Michigan’s Public Radio Network and Washington...

Did you know some of Ernest Hemingway’s characters were named after people he knew in his Michigan boyhood? Today, we’re going to get up close with the Michiganders that inspired Hemingway and talk about his complicated legacy today. GUESTS: Christopher Struble , President of the Michigan Hemingway Society Jennifer Tianen, English Teacher and Literary Garden Club Sponsor at West Bloomf...

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, reach out and talk to someone with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or chat with someone online at their website.    The poet Thomas Lynch had a long career as a funeral director before retiring a few years ago. That gave him an interesting vantage point for observing the pain and loss of the past y...

The false narrative of widespread voter fraud during the last presidential election has not gone away. Some Republicans and Trump supporters have clung to the idea that the election was stolen. They’ve continued to call for restrictions and regulations. They say they want to make elections more secure. Others call it voter suppression. Today, we’ll explore the sweeping bill package fro...