Stateside Daily Archive

When you’re planning to vote, it's easy to focus on the top of the ticket. But what about all those other important contests farther down the ballot? This year, Michigan votes on two races for the Michigan Supreme Court. The state’s highest court has decided some pretty big issues in the past five years. Need voters sift through thousands of pages of written opinions to be informed? And what about...

When it comes to this year's election coverage, team Stateside is passing the mic. Our new limited-run podcast series What the Vote? is reported by Gen Z, for Gen Z. It’s all about what matters to young people in politics–and why they matter in this election. We kick off the series with an episode reported and written by Stateside production assistant Adan Quan all about what it means for young pe...

A program to provide cash assistance to new moms and babies in the state is expanding. The state has become a sort of proving ground for basic income assistance. GUEST: Kate Wells , health reporter, Michigan Public See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music draws on over 50 years of the networks conversation with and about women musicians that have shaped the industry. The book was largely inspired by Turning the Tables , a series co-founded by music critic Ann Powers. She and Alison Fensterstock, editor of the new book, joined Stateside to chat about some of the Michigan musicians that hav...

It's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish holiday marking the New Year. And this year, it falls at a time when Israel has just invaded Lebanon, and is approaching the one-year mark of Hamas' attack on Israel. Events of the past year have left many Jews, here in Michigan, in the US – and certainly in Israel - as uncertain of the future as they’ve been in this young century.  GUEST: Shimri Zameret is an Israel...

Michigan has a sizable Lebanese-American population, many of whom have friends and family living in Lebanon. The community is reeling as tensions with Israel have spilled into an escalation of violence and civilian deaths. Documentarian Razi Jafri talks about reactions from the community in Michigan, and the political organizing coalescing among Arab Americans here. GUEST: Razi Jafri, journalist a...

A new book, "The Black Utopians", is an intimate, historical look at the places of community, solace, and sustainability created by Black Americans over generations. That includes in Detroit, where The Church of the Black Madonna, became a hub for Black Christian Nationalism and Civil Rights. GUEST:  Aaron Robertson , author, "The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in Ame...

During his term, former U.S. President Donald Trump focused on the issue of manufacturing, specifically within the auto industry. Now he's promising more tariffs on foreign made goods and raw materials if he becomes president once again. One of the tariffs that he pursued back in 2018 was requested by a Michigan company, Whirlpool, the maker of various appliances. "Whirlpool had been petitioning t...

Breaking down the nitty gritty of the utility bill everyone in southeast Michigan: DTE. The energy provider is a source of seemingly endless consternation as consumers feel the pinch from both frequent outages and DTE rate-hike requests. Detroit Free Press columnist Khalil AlHajal recently wrote about it in his column. GUEST: Khalil AlHajal, columnist, Detroit Free Press See omnystudio.com/listene...

Energy gathered from the sun or wind is often seen as a solution to climate change, but there’s a rising conflict in small towns throughout the state over large-scale renewable energy projects. This election season there's been much discussion about how local township and county races have focused on this issue. Roger Kerson, a Michigan-based writer for Barn Raiser Media, detailed why residents in...

In the mid-1960s, Michigan State University fielded the first fully racially integrated football team. And they were really good. Those teams forever changed college football. And there efforts are documented in radio special "Teams of the Century" by producers Elizabeth Meister and Dan Collison with Long Haul Productions. Thanks to them for sharing their work on Stateside. See omnystudio.com/list...

West Michigan chef Abra Berens is publishing a series of cookbooks drilling down on seasonal best. A former farmer  and veteran of Zingerman’s Deli kitchen and the cafe at Chicago’s celebrated Local Foods grocery…she’s got chops fancy enough for the company, as well as crowd pleasers that will work on a weeknight.  GUEST: Abra Berens , author of multiple cookbooks, including "Pulp" See omnystudio....

Michigan Public's newsroom launched a new web series this week called "Voter Voices" that hears from a diverse collection of Michiganders about what concerns them as they head into the voting booth this fall. GUEST: Jodi Westrick , director of digital audiences, Michigan Public Briana Rice , Detroit bureau reporter, Michigan Public     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A professor at Eastern Michigan University compiled stories of women in journalism who covered COVID, collecting oral histories of how the pandemic affected their work and lives.  GUEST: You Li, Assoc Professor of Journalism, EMU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Artist Tiff Massey is the first Black woman to graduate from Cranbrook’s metalsmithing department. The multimedia artist is is perhaps best known today for her jewelry. While some of Massey's rings and chains are wearable, others are as large as furniture pieces, evoking the place these things have in Black culture. Stateside  host April Baer visited Massey's studio last spring, in advance of the...

Michigan Central Station once represented an era of industry and opportunity in Detroit, and served as a point of convergence for folks coming from all walks of life. Jamon Jordan, official historian for the city, joined Stateside to talk about what makes the renovation and reopening of the station building, now called Michigan Central, so meaningful. Hear April Baer's full conversation with Jorda...

For 33 years, the story of Anita Wiley's disappearance was unresolved. Now, Antonio Wiley, and Anita's sister, Tonya Mosley, have a produced a podcast about Anita's story called She Has a Name . The series chronicles the realties of the drug epidemic in Detroit in the 1980s, Wiley's and Mosely's experiences with trauma and grief, and the reconstruction of family bonds. We revisit Stateside 's conv...

Folks in Flint will tell you, Comma Bookstore and Social Hub has been lifting the life of the city in many ways since its opening in 2020. But post-pandemic, amid economic uncertainty, this community asset is struggling to keep the doors open. Comma owner Egypt Otis recently started a GoFundMe campaign for the store. In doing so, she hoped to keep alive the vision she brought to life four years ag...

When queer folk icon Phranc first started identifying as an "all-American Jewish lesbian folksinger" in the early 1980s, the world was in a very different place when it came to talking about queer identity. But the artist managed to carve out a space for herself with bright, cheery songs that celebrated queer love as often as they dealt with the darker realities of prejudice. This fall, Phranc is...

James Earl Jones died on Monday, at the age of 93. This week, stage and screen fans are saying goodbye to a Michigander who was one of the United States most experienced and compelling talents. From the sinister authority of Darth Vader to the caring wisdom of Mufasa, Jones was - still is - a fixture of command. He could capture a movie in a single scene, or even a solitary line. Today, how the ac...

Justin Heinze's research looks at some of the psychological issues and impacts surrounding gun violence, and strategies for creating a safer educational environment. He joined us to talk about what safeguards are currently in place at the state level in Michigan in order to prevent gun violence in school spaces.  GUEST:  Justin Heinze , Co-Director of the National Center for School Safety; Co-Dire...

Yuval Sharon is known for infusing both new and classic operas with fresh relevance. Now, the artistic director of the Detroit Opera is out with a new book that makes the case for opera that speaks to the modern audience. We spoke with Sharon about A New Philosophy of Opera, and why he thinks opera is an art form born for reinvention.  GUEST:  Yuval Sharon, artistic director of the Detroit Opera ...

When Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald leveled involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a teen who killed four classmates and injured seven other people at Oxford High School, many believed she wouldn’t get a conviction. Today, James and Jennifer Crumbley are in prison, and another prosecutor in Barrow County, Georgia is attempting a similar approach against the father of the...

Cell phone bans in school are becoming more common, along with the ubiquity of smartphones and social media distractions. Florida and California have both made efforts on statewide bans. In Michigan, there is no plan for a state-level ban through the Legislature. But increasingly districts are opting into bans and finding kids are more engaged in school, more social, and less distracted overall. ...

In the years following the Great Depression, and as African Americans moved through the pathways of the Great Migration, Detroit's Paradise Valley became a hotbed of music and the arts. Among the signature sites for live music was the Apex Bar and Lounge. Taylor Childs's family first opened the bar in the 1940s, a time when, as Taylor noted, "Black land ownership was unheard of." APEX, Child's art...