This week on Beyond Both Sides, Allie Walker and guest co-host Ryan Gajewski (filling in for Chris Moyer) dig into three Michigan headlines that all circle the same question: who has the power and who benefits? They break down Detroit’s next move on the long-blighted Packard Plant, a Detroit Free Press column on lobbyist perks and political optics, and a new Democratic push to tie tax incentives more tightly to job creation and retention.

Then they dive deep into Michigan’s never-ending redistricting saga — how map-making really works, why “fair” maps may be mathematically impossible, and whether it’s time to blow up the whole system with ideas like proportional representation and even a state constitutional convention.

The episode wraps with a look at the bipartisan wave of school cell phone bans, why Michigan lawmakers are circling the issue, and what it all means for kids, parents and classrooms.

In this episode:

• Detroit’s Packard Plant and the politics of redevelopment

• Lobbyists, Lansing culture, and the power of optics

• Tax incentives, jobs, and who actually wins

• Michigan’s redistricting fight and a bold case for proportional representation

• The growing push to limit smartphones in schools

Hit play to hear how disagreement can be sharp, funny, and still civil — even on the issues that quietly shape everything.