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 juvenile offenders.

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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 Rhonda’s articles about making outdoor recreation more accessible to people of color here.

Antonio Rafael, Detroit environmental activist and director of the Detroit Leadership and Environmental Education Program, an initiative of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Regional Center.

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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, associate dean at Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School, director of the WMU Innocence Project

Jennifer Cobbina, associate professor at Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice

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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 published an extensive article Sunday in the Detroit Free Press that chronicles the spread of the B117 variant in the state.

GUESTS:

Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press reporter

Derek Kravitz, investigative journalist with the Documenting COVID-19 project at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation.

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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 the surge.   

GUESTS:

Caroline Llanes, newsroom intern at Michigan Radio

SadaatHossain, owner of the Raven Café

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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 Afghanistan, it is a deeply mixed bag of feelings.

Today were talking about this announcement and how it may represent a new chapter in US foreign affairs.

GUEST:

Representative Peter Meijer, U.S. Representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district 

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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 the Man in Blue exploded into publication and was a finalist for the National Book Award 2020 for poetry. 

GUEST:

Tommye Blount, poet and author of Fantasia for the Man in Blue, finalist for the National Book Award 2020 for Poetry

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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 use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after incredibly rare blood clots were linked to vaccinations in a handful of people.

Today on the podcast, we talk to Michigan’s chief medical executive about the state’s plans for moving past this new surge. And we’ll hear from a restaurant owner who decided to take action on his own and go to takeout only service amid this latest rise in cases.

GUESTS:

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive

Phil Cooley, the founder and owner of Slow’s Bar BQ in Detroit

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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 last and how far reaching, as public health officials struggle to get COVID under control?

GUESTS:

Kristen Jordan Shamus, health reporter at the Detroit Free Press

Emily Martin, epidemiologist at the University of Michigan 

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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. Debra Furr-Holden, epidemiologist and professor of public health at Michigan State University

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