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 ago. Today, we’ll talk about what it takes to keep our indie bookstores alive–and why it matters gthat we do. 

GUEST: 

Egypt Otis, owner of Comma Bookstore & Social Hub in Flint

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 on the University of Michigan's campus to talk about her long career and share some of her sculptural work as part of a residency with the University of Michigan LSA Institute for the Humanities.

We talked to Phranc about her lifelong journey to make space for queer people–herself included–to be themselves. 

GUEST: 

Phranc, musician and artist behind the exhibit "The Butch Closet" 

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 actor's early life in Michigan shaped who he became. And, we’ll hear about the statue dedicated in his honor in Brethren in Manistee County, near Jones’s boyhood home. 

GUEST:

• Cynthia Asiala, Chair of the Arts and Culture Alliance of Manistee County

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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-Director of Research and Scholarship Core, Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 14-year-old accused of killing four people this week at Apalachee High School. We talked to McDonald about the similarities in the two cases, and about what kinds of circumstances warrant charging parents for the crimes of juvenile offenders. 

GUEST: 

Karen McDonald, Oakland County Prosecutor 

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. 

GUEST: Sneha Dhandapani, reporter, Bridge Michigan

You can read Sneha's story here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 installation at Detroit Month of Design, tells the stories of Paradise Valley through textile and fashion design. She joined Stateside to share a piece of her family history, and to talk about what makes textile such a great medium for passing those stories on. 

APEX will open on Thursday, Sep. 5 at the LOVE building, and will close on Friday, Sep. 27 with a fashion show. Find additional details at the Detroit Month of Design website.

GUEST:

Taylor Childs, Detroit native and artist

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump campaign has made some notable shifts in strategy since Vice President Kamala Harris stepped into the presidential race, according to Tim Alberta, a staff writer for The Atlantic. 

"...Kamala Harris' candidacy has roused a sleeping giant in the Democratic base. She is raising hundreds of millions of dollars. She has seen this huge outpouring of support from the volunteer class," Alberta said. "...And that is the new reality that Trump and his campaign are struggling to to adapt to."

Alberta is the author of two books that dig deeply into the impact of Donald Trump on the Republican Party, and the nation: American Carnage and The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory. He joined Stateside for an analysis of Trump's current presidential campaign. 

GUEST:

• Tim Alberta, staff writer for The Atlantic

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Michigan economist says moves to ban or limit Airbnb-type short-term rentals have no real regulatory benefit on pinched housing markets in popular locations.

GUEST:

Betsey Stevenson, economist, University of Michigan

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.