On Hand

Like the rest of Michigan’s musical community, singer-songwriter May Erlewine is dealing with prohibitions on live shows, even gathering with other groups of musicians. She's already put out one well reviewed album this year, but May is never one to shirk from a challenge. She surprised her fans with a brand new holiday album recently, titled A Simple Phrase, that includes her takes on some classics.

GUEST:

Singer-songwriter May Erlewine

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In so many ways, 2020 has been completely unprecedented. Multiple COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and given FDA authorization in record times. And now, comes the job of getting those vaccines to Americans. And, it turns out, there is precedent for this kind of a mass inoculation campaign: the polio vaccine.

On today’s episode, we’ll talk to a medical historian about the parallels and distinctions between that vaccination effort and the one we’re facing today.

GUEST:

Dr. Howard Markel, author and Univerity of Michigan medical historian

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There’s this phrase that gets tossed around newsrooms when a bunch of stories drop in a single day—that it’s like drinking from a firehose. Covering political news in Michigan in 2020 has been a hydrant for a five-alarm fire Every. Single. Day.

From “fix the damn roads,” to a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer, to a global pandemic, to the presidential election, there's been no shortage of political stories this year. On today's episode, we're taking a look back at a year in politics like no other.  

GUESTS:

Adrian Hemond, political consultant and partner at Grassroots Midwest, and a Democrat

John Sellek, founder of Harbor Strategic Public Affairs, and a Republican

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The COVID-19 public health crisis—which was especially devastating in Black-majority cities—ran headlong into months of protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. Has there been a day this year where we haven’t been reminded about how differently society treats Black Americans?

It was against this backdrop that Stephen Henderson hosted conversations about race, week after week, with prominent American thinkers, writers, and artists on his radio call-in program Detroit Today on WDET.

GUEST:

Stephen Henderson, host of Detroit Today on WDET, founding editor of Bridge Detroit, and a Pulitzer-Prize winning editorial page editor at the Detroit Free Press.

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After months of negotiation, congressional leaders say they could vote on a COVID-19 relief package before the end of the year. The compromise comes at a critical time. Federal unemployment benefits are set to expire before the end of the year, leaving millions of Americans without a way to pay their bills. Bipartisan congressional workgroups are trying to get to a compromise and pass something to help struggling families and businesses. In the U.S. House, that group is the so-called “Problem Solvers Caucus.” And two of its members are from Michigan. We talked to them about what’s in the bills and about finding compromise after a contentious election year.

GUESTS:

 

Republican Congressman Fred Upton represents Michigan’s 6th congressional district.

Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin represents Michigan’s 8th congressional district

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News broke on Tuesday that former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm is President-elect Joe Biden’s expected pick for energy secretary. She has close ties to Biden from their time working on the Big Three bailout together. She’s also an outspoken advocate about the need to support vehicle makers’ transition into a green future—a goal that Biden shares.

This episode, we’ll talk about Granholm’s future as the likely head of the Department of Energy, and her time as governor where she led the state through the worst days of the Great Recession—sometimes to mixed reviews.

GUESTS:

Liz Boyd, former communications director under then-Governor Jennifer Granholm and owner of Liz Boyd Public Relations firm

Zoe Clark, programming director at Michigan Radio

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NOTE: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse in specific terms. It may not be appropriate for all listeners.

Sexual abuse victims have been through so many ordeals with the Catholic Church. The message we’ve been getting is that victims are being protected, things are different. But are they?

Today, Michigan Radio’s Kate Wells tells us the story of two young priests, and another non-clergy employee, at a Michigan seminary who say they were sexually abused and harassed by a prominent Polish-American priest there. And the allegations aren’t ancient history. Some of them date back to last year. 

GUEST:

Kate Wells is a Michigan Radio reporter. You can find her story about the accusations against Miroslaw Krol here.

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This weekend, a convoy of trucks rolled out of the Pfizer manufacturing facility in Portage, Michigan, carrying the first doses of the company’s freshly-FDA-approved COVID vaccine. Hopes are beyond high that this might be the beginning of the end for the pandemic that’s brought so much of our world to a standstill. But first comes the monumental task of getting those vaccines to the people who need them most. Today, we’ll talk to a reporter covering vaccine distribution and the state’s chief health officer about what it will take to do just that.

GUESTS:

Kristen Jordan Shamus, a reporter covering health and gender for the Detroit Free Press

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

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Michigan is one of the top Christmas tree producers in the country. And in a year where people are looking for a some kind of normal, sales are booming. So, in the spirit of the season, we’re going to be digging into the Christmas tree economy. We’ll also talk about how one evergreen—the white pine—secured its place as Michigan’s state tree.

GUESTS:

Amy Start, executive director of the Michigan Christmas Tree Association

Scott Powell, nursery manager at Dutchman Tree Farms in Manton

Hillary Pine, Michigan History Center’s Northern Lower Peninsula Historian

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Ruth Ellis was an out lesbian and staunch advocate for LGBTQ and African American civil rights. The Detroit home Ellis shared with her longtime partner became a safe haven for young LGBTQ people from the city and beyond. Now, the Ruth Ellis Center is carrying on its namesake's legacy by providing services and community for LGBTQ youth—a group that faces a disproportionately high rate of homelessness. On this episode, we talk about the center’s new supportive housing project and how “chosen families” help LGBTQ youth thrive.

GUESTS:

Jerry Peterson, executive director of the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit

Lilianna Reyes, senior director of the LGBTQ youth drop-in service at Detroit's Ruth Ellis Center and head of the Trans Sisters of Color Project

Find Neenah Ellis’s interview with Ruth Ellis here.

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