The Mitten Channel

Veteran broadcaster David O. Norris looks back on a career that helped put Flint on the map as the “Country Music Capitol of the North.” Norris shares behind-the-mic memories from decades in public and country radio, including his long association with Maybelle Carter and the The Carter Family . He also tells a remarkable story from the IMA Auditorium : during Johnny Cash ’s final tour stop in Fli...

Wayne Kramer is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, author, producer, and film and television composer. He was co-founder of the Detroit rock group MC5, and Rolling Stone named him one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.  Wayne was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Wayne Kramer has written a memoir, The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the Mc5, and My Life of Impossibilities . The MC5 record...

Jack Lessenberry and Flint area Detroit Tiger fans share their special memories of Ernie Harwell in this tribute podcast. Award- winning journalist Jack Lessenberry, formerly of Michigan Public Radio, was a personal friend of Detroit Tiger broadcaster, Ernie Harwell was a Michigan cultural icon. He has a special place in the hearts and memories of Tiger fans. We invited Flint area fans to recount...

Kate Garns is a national motivational & leadership speaker, Disney Performer and author. Kate works with student government leaders across the nation about self talk and leadership using motivational themes. Garns has Flint roots as her family is from the Flint area.  She discusses the pursuit of her career in entertainment and public speaking. Kate's message to young people of America is...

Marty Embry is a legendary basketball player, whose teams at Flint Central High School won two Class A Michigan High School basketball titles. Marty Embry played at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. His teams played in three NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments, as well as an NIT college post-season tournament. Marty was an NBA 3rd-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz and went on to p...

Gregory Fournier, author of The Purple Gang: Detroit’s Kosher Nostra, joins the podcast to explore the rise and fall of one of America’s most notorious Prohibition-era crime syndicates. During the 1920s and 1930s, Detroit’s Purple Gang—led by the Bernstein brothers—sat atop Michigan’s criminal underworld, controlling bootlegging, rackets, and labor intimidation while doing business with figures li...

Flint, Michigan's Buick City brownfield site does not have just a little bit of toxic chemicals left behind by GM, there appears to be a massive amount of environmental damage. As the Flint water crisis, the real story is not out there just yet about the Buick City brownfield site. More is learned each year about the extent of the damage. The Buick City site appears to be a crime scene. Remem...

The Flint River Blues is one of many songs written about the Flint Water Crisis. Colton Ort, a singer-songwriter documents for history the lead-tainted water of Flint. He discussed his song and the message he is trying to send. lead-tainted Special Thanks to Colton Ort who provided the song, The Flint River Blues.  Colton is a singer-songwriter who wrote this song to help keep the poisoned childre...

A true crime story about fratricide.  The killing involves fraternal twins.  One twin, David Melfi along with a friend helped kill the other twin by stabbing him 45 times.  It is a shocking crime.  The Prosecutor in the case, Arthur A. Busch narrates the case from his vantage point.  This is a riveting story.  It remained in the local news for nearly two years from the time of the crime in 1995 un...

Singer-Songwriter Justin Townes Earle was a Nashville, Tennessee native who understood Flint, Michigan perfectly. Justin never played a gig in Flint, but he was eager to find his way to a stage in the Flint area. He died before he had his opportunity. Townes-Earle penned the song “Flint City Shake” that encapsulates the history and importance of Flint, Michigan to America.  The people of the City...

Safetyville, Flint Michigan has a very special place in the hearts of many baby boomers in the Flint Area. This podcast narrative by Arthur Busch recalls the Safetyville of the 1960s in Flint, Michigan. The podcast episode has a brief interview with powered car expert, Lee Exline, on the cars driven by Safetyville. He was the man who bought the cars we drove in our youth. STOP-LOOK-LISTEN remember...

Mark Parsells' stories of the history of radio and television advertising in Mid-Michigan are full of humor. Mark's late father, Vern Parsell, was a pioneering Flint area automobile dealer. Mark Parsell got the grit and determination in Flint that he needed to launch a second career in the recording business in Memphis, TN. Parsell, a Flint-area native, operates South Main Studio in Memp...

Sgt. Phillip R. Wise, a Flint, Michigan native, has been on a decades-long quest to find the answers about the crash of a C 5-A transport plane in which he was a crew member trying to save orphan Vietnamese-American babies. Sgt. Wise has an eternal bond with the surviving children, now adults of his mission, and the few other adults who survived the flight. He has sought to honor the fallen, and c...

The Radio Free Flint Camper Truck Tour Podcast continues with a visit to the mighty Mackinac Bridge. With a total span of approximately 5 miles, the Mackinac Bridge connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan uniting the communities of Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, Michigan. The engineering of the Mackinac Bridge was designed to accommodate the high winds, temperature changes and constant...

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her life in service to the cause of women's rights and equality. She was a giant in history even while still alive to millions of Americans. She will long be remembered as one of the greatest justices to ever serve on our nation's high court. Arthur Busch appeared in front of Justice Ginsburg as a Prosecutor in 2003. He recounts his memories of her and w...

Arthur Busch takes his Radio Free Flint podcast on a Truck Camper tour along the magnificent shores of the Great Lakes. Nowhere on earth can this amount of freshwater be found other than Michigan. The coastal towns and parks provide a backdrop for storytelling. Listen in as Radio Free Flint shares trips to Tawas Point Lighthouse, Ossineke State Park near Alpena, Cheboygan State Park, Mackinaw City...

Remi Harris is one of the most accomplished guitarists in the United Kingdom.  He grew up in the Midlands of England which has been fertile ground for a world-class guitarists like Robert Plant, etc. Remi Harris has performed at some notable venues including the Montreal Jazz Festival, Buckingham Palace, BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with Jamie Cullum (televised on BBC 4), and live on BBC Rad...

Steve Dawes is a new UAW Regional Director and shares labor's goals and aspirations for the future.  He also shares his path to leadership in the UAW.  His work in Flint, Michigan has been vital to the area as the Michigan manufacturing workforce has been downsized in the era of globalization.  His work in the region which manufactures the America's best selling trucks is critical to the...

The story of Sherwood Forest (Davison, Michigan) is an improbable one that is part of Rock and Roll History.  In the 1960's and 70's the popular Michigan music festival venue helped launch the careers of many of Michigan's emerging Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.  Bob Seger, Stevie Wonder, Alice Cooper, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Ted Nugent, MC5, Sammie Hagar, REO Speedwagon,...

Barb Barton is the author of the book Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice in Michigan. As a lifelong Michigander and an endangered species biologist by training, Barton finds boundless inspiration in the region’s rich history. Manoomin traces the interwoven stories of the Anishinaabek, European colonizers, and the role native wild rice has had in shaping their shared histories. The first book of its...

Planet of the Humans has already been seen by over 10 million viewers world-wide!! Jeff Gibbs, a Flint native, is a successful documentary filmmaker. Jeff and his lifelong friend, Michael Moore recently released an eco-documentary movie, Planet of the Humans.  Jeff grew up in the Beecher area and graduated from Davison High School.  Jeff has worked on several of the most successful documentaries i...

Flint's blue collar workers have long led America's political rebellions. History tells us exactly why. My latest podcast examines Flint's blue collar voting history in Presidential elections since 1968. History reveals the common themes that attracted disaffected Flint's southern auto migrants to the presidential campaigns of Gov. George Wallace, Mayor Donald Williamson and Pr...

Jon Harpst is a colorful figure in Flint's history.  Jon was instrumental in the beginnings of the Bobby Crim Road Race and getting it to locate in Flint.  He shares the early history of what has become one of the best long distance running events in America. Jon was the campaign manager for Flint's first elected Mayor, the late James Rutherford. He also served in the Rutherford administ...

Tom R. Pabst has dedicated his legal career to obtaining justice for the underdog, the weak, the powerless and those without a voice.  He is recognized by his peers as one of the best trial attorneys in Michigan.  He has obtained over a dozen million dollar jury awards for his clients in his career. As a trial attorney, Tom R. Pabst is recognized by Judges as being in the top 5% of attorneys in Mi...

With over three decades of experience, broad knowledge of both state and local government, and deep roots in the community, Representative Tim Sneller has hit the ground running in the Michigan House of Representatives and is working hard to serve his home community. Currently, Tim is serving his second term in the House of Representatives, representing the 50th House District, which includes the...